Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Murphy USA in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, December 17th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now forecasts that the specialty retailer will post earnings per share of $23.57 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $23.89. The consensus estimate for Murphy USA’s current full-year earnings is $23.59 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy USA’s Q4 2024 earnings at $6.33 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $4.87 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $6.85 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $7.00 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.25 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $5.56 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.87 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $28.05 EPS.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.69 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on MUSA. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.33.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA traded up $4.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $524.77. The stock had a trading volume of 6,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,171. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $350.55 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $515.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $500.27.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 49,501.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,664,000 after acquiring an additional 388,090 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the third quarter worth approximately $53,387,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $863,116,000 after purchasing an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 1,359.6% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 93,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,813,000 after buying an additional 86,932 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,122,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

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.