Zacks Research Weighs in on Murphy USA Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:MUSA)

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Murphy USA in a report issued on Wednesday, September 18th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now forecasts that the specialty retailer will post earnings per share of $6.81 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $7.28. The consensus estimate for Murphy USA’s current full-year earnings is $24.43 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy USA’s FY2024 earnings at $24.09 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $7.33 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $6.49 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $464.57.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA stock opened at $496.47 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Murphy USA has a 1 year low of $338.80 and a 1 year high of $552.30. The company has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $510.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $461.54.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 777.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 141.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 82.1% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 directly owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666 over the last ninety days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.55%.

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.