Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Murphy USA was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” to a “buy,” though the broader analyst picture still shows a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $503.71.
• The company posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings, reporting $7.28 EPS versus $5.37 expected and revenue of $4.82 billion, up 6.5% year over year.
• Recent activity included insider share sales by two senior vice presidents, while institutional ownership remains high at 80.81% of the stock.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MUSA. Weiss Ratings upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.71.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $505.77 on Friday. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $609.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.36. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $524.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $447.60.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 31.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,245. The trade was a 50.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total value of $555,912.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. The trade was a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,362 shares of company stock valued at $25,779,517. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 138,998 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $53,967,000 after purchasing an additional 23,349 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,705 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $51,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,638 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $24,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,614 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $8,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,029,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company's primary operations center on two retail formats.

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