Murphy USA (MUSA) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) will be issuing its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, October 30th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $6.69 per share for the quarter. Parties that wish to register for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Murphy USA to post $24 EPS for the current fiscal year and $27 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $482.16 on Tuesday. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $350.55 and a 52 week high of $552.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $499.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $474.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. 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. Raymond James lifted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $495.33.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. Corporate insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

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.