Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.56 EPS

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.69 EPS.

Murphy USA Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA traded up $21.73 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $494.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 184,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,165. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $497.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $474.64. 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 $350.55 and a 1 year high of $552.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. 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 report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $495.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is currently 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.