Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Murphy USA in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, April 25th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now anticipates that the specialty retailer will earn $4.20 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $4.25. The consensus estimate for Murphy USA's current full-year earnings is $26.29 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy USA's Q4 2024 earnings at $7.19 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $7.51 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $6.80 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $6.44 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $25.96 EPS.
Several other analysts also recently issued reports on MUSA. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $408.60.
Read Our Latest Analysis on MUSA
Murphy USA Stock Up 0.2 %
NYSE MUSA traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $421.34. The company had a trading volume of 160,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 205,439. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $267.93 and a fifty-two week high of $430.83. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm's 50 day moving average is $414.12 and its 200 day moving average is $382.91.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.21 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.59%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,098,491.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $96,241,000 after acquiring an additional 269,159 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,560,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,209,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 15.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $369,208,000 after buying an additional 140,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,125,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.
About Murphy USA
(
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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.
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