Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Price

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its price objective lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $550.00 to $554.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

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

Murphy USA Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $499.61 on Thursday. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $361.74 and a 52-week high of $561.08. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $509.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $507.16. The company has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 23.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,529,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,207,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 35,240 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $17,369,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,573,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by 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.