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

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, May 1st. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $4.40 per share for the quarter. Individual that wish to register for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.21 EPS. On average, analysts expect Murphy USA to post $26 EPS for the current fiscal year and $28 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA stock opened at $423.58 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $415.09 and a 200-day moving average of $384.02. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $268.69 and a 12-month high of $430.83.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 6.59%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total transaction of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,722.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Murphy USA news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total transaction of $275,925.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. 9.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MUSA. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.60.

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.