Critical Review: Murphy USA (MUSA) & Its Rivals

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) is one of 285 publicly-traded companies in the “Specialty Retail” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Murphy USA to similar businesses based on the strength of its dividends, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Murphy USA has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Murphy USA’s peers have a beta of 1.66, suggesting that their average stock price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Murphy USA pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA pays out 7.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.1% and pay out 35.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Murphy USA has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Murphy USA and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Murphy USA	$19.38 billion	$470.60 million	15.02
Murphy USA Competitors	$7.05 billion	$386.47 million	31.96

Murphy USA has higher revenue and earnings than its peers. Murphy USA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Murphy USA and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Murphy USA	0	5	6	0	2.55
Murphy USA Competitors	3661	15555	21587	586	2.46

Murphy USA currently has a consensus price target of $606.33, suggesting a potential upside of 13.21%. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies have a potential upside of 8.89%. Given Murphy USA’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Murphy USA is more favorable than its peers.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

80.8% of Murphy USA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by institutional investors. 9.0% of Murphy USA shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 20.5% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Murphy USA and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Murphy USA	2.85%	92.81%	13.36%
Murphy USA Competitors	-3.67%	-13.85%	3.19%

Summary

Murphy USA beats its peers on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

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. Murphy USA Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.