Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $493.54 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $515.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $506.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $350.55 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 23.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,529,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,207,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 6.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 35,240 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $17,369,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter worth about $1,573,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently 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.