Zacks Research Reduces Earnings Estimates for Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2024 earnings estimates for Murphy USA in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, November 20th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now anticipates that the specialty retailer will earn $23.89 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $23.97. The consensus estimate for Murphy USA’s current full-year earnings is $23.61 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy USA’s Q1 2025 earnings at $4.95 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $6.91 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $5.48 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MUSA. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $495.33.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $531.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $497.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $484.92. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $350.55 and a fifty-two week high of $552.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 0.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at $1,136,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 788 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $439,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 11.9% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,934 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,407,000 after buying an additional 16,006 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 11.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

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.