Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.86 EPS

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.96 earnings per share.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.0%

MUSA traded down $7.83 on Friday, reaching $389.59. 50,768 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 306,720. The company’s 50 day moving average is $414.65 and its 200-day moving average is $393.70. The company has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.38. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $523.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total value of $1,721,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,890,325. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 24,733 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total value of $9,431,434.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 131,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,963,381.92. This trade represents a 15.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,034 shares of company stock worth $17,349,722. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Murphy USA by 676.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,243,000 after acquiring an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 66.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 203,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $78,842,000 after purchasing an additional 80,702 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,785.1% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 81,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,037,000 after purchasing an additional 76,903 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Murphy USA by 193.4% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 94,992 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,742,000 after buying an additional 62,613 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 168.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 73,913 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,068,000 after buying an additional 46,410 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MUSA. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Stephens set a $450.00 price target on Murphy USA in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $459.17.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.