Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Given New $570.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $520.00 to $570.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 7.91% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on MUSA. Weiss Ratings upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $585.11.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $618.94 on Monday. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $636.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $562.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.17. The company has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.Murphy USA’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 32.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total transaction of $24,773,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 342,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,286,875.52. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,245. This represents a 50.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 10.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the second quarter worth $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $227,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

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.