Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.97 EPS

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.97), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. Murphy USA's revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.80 earnings per share.

Murphy USA Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded down $15.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $396.29. 620,111 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 213,977. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $268.69 and a 1-year high of $430.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $415.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $384.67. The firm has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MUSA. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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 raised Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $408.60.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582 over the last ninety days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.