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

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

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

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $499.61 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $509.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $507.16. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.79. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $361.74 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

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 49,501.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,664,000 after purchasing an additional 388,090 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth $53,387,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $53,777,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 99,253 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.