Murphy USA Inc. to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $6.77 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts (NYSE:MUSA)

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) – Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Murphy USA in a report released on Thursday, April 25th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now forecasts that the specialty retailer will post earnings per share of $6.77 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $6.78. 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 Q3 2024 earnings at $6.81 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.20 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $8.72 EPS.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.60.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $421.34 on Monday. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $267.93 and a 12-month high of $430.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $414.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $383.57. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total transaction of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,241,000 after purchasing an additional 269,159 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at about $81,560,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,209,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $369,208,000 after purchasing an additional 140,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

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.