Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Price

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $555.00 to $550.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.80.

Murphy USA Stock Down 4.1 %

MUSA 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 market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $509.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $507.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted 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 return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

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