Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Cut by Zacks Research

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Murphy USA in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, September 18th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now expects that the specialty retailer will post earnings of $6.81 per share 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.

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

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

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $496.47 on Monday. Murphy USA has a 12 month low of $338.80 and a 12 month high of $552.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $510.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $461.54. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 777.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Murphy USA by 141.4% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 19.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 82.1% during the 2nd 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. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.