Reviewing Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) & Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI)

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) and Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Murphy USA has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bath & Body Works has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Murphy USA and Bath & Body Works’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Murphy USA	2.87%	96.01%	12.95%
Bath & Body Works	10.83%	-53.48%	13.40%

Dividends

Murphy USA pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Bath & Body Works pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Murphy USA pays out 7.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bath & Body Works pays out 20.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Murphy USA has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.8% of Murphy USA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.1% of Bath & Body Works shares are held by institutional investors. 9.0% of Murphy USA shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Bath & Body Works shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Murphy USA and Bath & Body Works”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Murphy USA	$19.38 billion	0.49	$470.60 million	$32.84	15.52
Bath & Body Works	$7.29 billion	0.44	$649.00 million	$3.84	4.15

Bath & Body Works has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Murphy USA. Bath & Body Works is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Murphy USA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Murphy USA and Bath & Body Works, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Murphy USA	0	5	6	0	2.55
Bath & Body Works	1	15	4	0	2.15

Murphy USA currently has a consensus target price of $606.89, suggesting a potential upside of 19.04%. Bath & Body Works has a consensus target price of $22.13, suggesting a potential upside of 38.98%. Given Bath & Body Works’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bath & Body Works is more favorable than Murphy USA.

Summary

Murphy USA beats Bath & Body Works on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Murphy USA Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc. is a specialty retailers and home to America’s Favorite Fragrances, offering a breadth of exclusive fragrances for the body and home, including the selling collections for fine fragrance mist, body lotion and body cream, 3-wick candles, home fragrance diffusers and liquid hand soap. The company was founded by Leslie Herbert Wexner in 1963 and is headquartered in Columbus, OH.