KeyCorp Initiates Coverage on Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA)

Research analysts at KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $550.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 6.89% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on MUSA. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $539.00.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $514.54 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $468.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.49. Murphy USA has a one year low of $382.04 and a one year high of $561.08. The firm has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. On average, analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 in the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 111,400.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 36.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 591 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 53,469.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $260,231,000 after buying an additional 552,872 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,284,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,563,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

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.