Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Trading Down 6.7% After Earnings Miss

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) fell 6.7% on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $464.15 and last traded at $472.45. 210,422 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 199,913 shares. The stock had previously closed at $506.24.

The specialty retailer reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp cut their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $526.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $935,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,658 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $895,046,000 after purchasing an additional 32,643 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 53,469.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $260,231,000 after purchasing an additional 552,872 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Murphy USA by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $236,125,000 after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $476.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $494.07.

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.