A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $525.67.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Murphy USA
Murphy USA stock traded down $3.43 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $448.31. The company had a trading volume of 211,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 193,762. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $481.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $500.83. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $382.04 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 0.80.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.
In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $935,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,658 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $895,046,000 after acquiring an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $291,068,000 after acquiring an additional 8,507 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $236,125,000 after acquiring an additional 18,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.
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.
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