Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) to Post Q1 2024 Earnings of $4.20 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) – Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Murphy USA in a research note issued on Thursday, April 25th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now forecasts that the specialty retailer will earn $4.20 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $4.25. The consensus estimate for Murphy USA’s current full-year earnings is $26.29 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy USA’s Q4 2024 earnings at $7.19 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $7.51 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $6.80 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $6.44 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $25.96 EPS.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

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

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $421.34 on Friday. Murphy USA has a one year low of $267.93 and a one year high of $430.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $414.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $383.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.76.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Murphy USA news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,700.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582 in the last ninety days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,060,000. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 844 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,371 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,312,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.