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 analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $550.00 to $554.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 9.40% from the company’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $512.80.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA traded down $9.53 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $506.42. 210,896 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 190,051. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $361.74 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $510.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $507.21. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,133,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at $11,529,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at $1,207,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 6.1% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 35,240 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,369,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at about $1,573,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.