Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.02 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Murphy USA Stock Up 2.2 %

MUSA traded up $11.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $516.10. 278,008 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 213,328. The stock has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $282.49 and a twelve month high of $520.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $470.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $427.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 7.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $82,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $82,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total transaction of $374,692.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at $8,818,436.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,451 shares of company stock worth $5,032,498. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $425.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $450.33.

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.