Zacks Research Upgrades Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) to Strong-Buy

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy USA’s Q2 2026 earnings at $7.44 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.83 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $7.07 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $7.22 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $5.95 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $5.91 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $7.32 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $7.37 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $6.84 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $7.25 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $7.33 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $27.33 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $27.55 EPS and Q1 2028 earnings at $6.30 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.71.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA traded up $75.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $589.70. The stock had a trading volume of 329,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 354,282. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The company has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $468.69 and its 200 day moving average is $421.76. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $584.94.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 27.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total transaction of $1,105,206.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,198,084.63. This represents a 47.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total transaction of $343,894.47. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,919 shares of company stock valued at $4,490,690 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 318.6% during 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 grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 149.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,753,000 after buying an additional 304,354 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 676.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,243,000 after buying an additional 148,301 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,726,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $53,446,000 after acquiring an additional 125,185 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Murphy USA News

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy USA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results materially beat expectations — Q1 net income and EPS jumped year?over?year (EPS $7.28 vs. $2.63 a year ago) and revenue of $4.82B topped estimates; management reported improved fuel contribution and higher retail gallons, which drove the beat and underpins near?term cash flow. Murphy USA Inc. Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded MUSA to Strong Buy and added it to its Rank #1 list while raising near?term and FY2027 EPS estimates — analyst estimate revisions and the upgrade support multiple buy signals from momentum/value models. Here’s Why Murphy USA (MUSA) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other research notes raised several quarterly and FY2027 EPS forecasts after the print (multiple small upward adjustments), signaling improved analyst confidence in consensus earnings power going forward.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price?target action is supportive — at least one published note showed an increased price target (coverage noted by major aggregator), which can attract momentum buying and re?rating interest. Price target increase reported on MSN
• Neutral Sentiment: Public transcripts and coverage provide color but no new surprises — the prepared remarks and press coverage recap the beats and metrics; useful for modeling but largely confirm what drove today’s move. Q1 2026 earnings call prepared remarks transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Regional and business press summarized Q1 results and metrics (revenue/profit increases); these amplify the story but add little incremental data beyond the release. Murphy USA posts higher revenue, profits
• Negative Sentiment: Minor offset — KeyCorp trimmed one quarter’s Q4 2026 EPS modestly in a note (while keeping an Overweight stance and a $600 target). That small cut contrasts with other raises but hasn’t materially changed the consensus.

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.