Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its price objective raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $550.00 to $554.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.40% from the company’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $512.80.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA traded down $9.53 on Thursday, hitting $506.42. 210,896 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,051. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $510.59 and its 200 day moving average is $507.21. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $361.74 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly 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 62.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 23.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,564,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 144.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 293 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,986 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 24 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.