Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Lowered to "Equal Weight" Rating by Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Murphy USA from a "strong-buy" to an "equal weight" rating, setting a price target of $405.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.23% from its current stock price.
• Other analysts have also lowered their ratings on Murphy USA, with Zacks Research changing their recommendation from "hold" to "strong sell" and Jefferies Financial Group downgrading it from "buy" to "hold".
• Murphy USA's latest earnings report showed a net margin of 2.52% and a decrease in revenue by 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year, with earnings per share of $7.36 exceeding estimates.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $405.00 price objective on the specialty retailer's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.23% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Zacks Research lowered Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $477.33.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $377.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.42. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $384.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $422.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.Murphy USA's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,830,015.72. This represents a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $27,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 1,925.0% during the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.