Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2023 earnings per share estimates for shares of Murphy USA in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, June 20th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now expects that the specialty retailer will post earnings per share of $5.08 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $5.07. The consensus estimate for Murphy USA’s current full-year earnings is $20.22 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy USA’s Q4 2023 earnings at $3.61 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $18.74 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $2.82 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $4.16 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $16.92 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $19.98 EPS.
MUSA has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $325.00 to $330.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.60.
Murphy USA Trading Up 1.1 %
Murphy USA stock opened at $292.72 on Friday. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $226.09 and a 52 week high of $323.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $281.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.44.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.62. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 86.87%. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 5.67%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 1,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.72, for a total value of $298,549.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,849,892.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 1,075 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Friday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.72, for a total value of $298,549.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,849,892.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.97, for a total transaction of $156,183.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $816,129.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,628 shares of company stock valued at $455,611 in the last three months. Insiders own 9.47% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth $50,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.01% of the company’s stock.
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. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.
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