Zacks Research Brokers Cut Earnings Estimates for Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for Murphy USA in a research note issued on Friday, October 25th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now forecasts that the specialty retailer will post earnings per share of $6.63 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $6.81. The consensus estimate for Murphy USA’s current full-year earnings is $23.97 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy USA’s Q4 2024 earnings at $7.30 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $23.97 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $26.14 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $8.80 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $5.34 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $27.62 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $495.33.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $473.37 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $499.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $473.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $350.55 and a 12-month high of $552.30. The stock has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $191,664,000 after acquiring an additional 388,090 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1,359.6% during the 2nd 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. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth $24,493,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 990.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,955 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,527,000 after buying an additional 16,308 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,091.4% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,063,000 after acquiring an additional 13,250 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA 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 sale, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at $196,971,533.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666 over the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 8.06%.

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.