Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Given New $560.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $540.00 to $560.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 10.04% from the company’s current price.

MUSA has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James increased their target price on Murphy USA from $425.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $469.50.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock traded down $6.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $508.89. 120,389 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 213,293. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $282.49 and a 12-month high of $521.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $472.17 and its 200-day moving average is $428.56.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.59% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 24.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total value of $374,692.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,818,436.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total value of $374,692.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,818,436.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 10,392 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.32, for a total value of $4,575,805.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 199,563 shares in the company, valued at $87,871,580.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,451 shares of company stock worth $5,032,498. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,241,000 after purchasing an additional 269,159 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 245,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $102,797,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth $81,560,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $95,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 194,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.