Zacks Research Downgrades Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) to Hold

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy USA’s Q2 2026 earnings at $8.28 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $8.29 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $7.32 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $7.31 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $7.23 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $30.10 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $3.80 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $3.66 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $9.52 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $9.56 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $7.33 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $7.28 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $6.95 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $7.00 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $27.69 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $27.42 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $5.92 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $28.37 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America raised shares of Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $539.50.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $551.36 on Monday. Murphy USA has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $636.04. The company has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $548.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $470.74.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 32.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,245. The trade was a 50.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total transaction of $24,773,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 342,212 shares in the company, valued at $204,286,875.52. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 318.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $164,940,000 after purchasing an additional 323,331 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 149.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,753,000 after purchasing an additional 304,354 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 676.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,243,000 after purchasing an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth $50,726,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1,723.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 132,450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $53,446,000 after buying an additional 125,185 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.