Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Given New $550.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $555.00 to $550.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.80.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $478.80 on Friday. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $371.30 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $509.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $507.16.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 26.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after buying an additional 99,253 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $291,068,000 after purchasing an additional 8,507 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 49,501.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $191,664,000 after purchasing an additional 388,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,407,000 after buying an additional 16,006 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.