Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Releases Earnings Results

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56, Briefing.com reports. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 63.18%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.69 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA traded down $3.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $484.77. 173,071 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 198,609. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $350.55 and a twelve month high of $552.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $496.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $475.21.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $495.33.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.