Murphy USA (MUSA) to Release Earnings on Wednesday

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) will release its earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, October 30th. Analysts expect Murphy USA to post earnings of $6.69 per share for the quarter. Parties that wish to register for the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.02 EPS. Murphy USA's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Murphy USA to post $24 EPS for the current fiscal year and $27 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $473.47. The company had a trading volume of 128,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,375. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Murphy USA has a one year low of $350.55 and a one year high of $552.30. The firm has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $501.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $472.48.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 7.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at $203,955,423.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $464.57.

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.