Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Murphy USA in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 26th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now forecasts that the specialty retailer will post earnings per share of $4.15 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $4.85. The consensus estimate for Murphy USA's current full-year earnings is $26.45 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Murphy USA's Q2 2025 earnings at $7.39 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $7.57 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $25.94 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $6.41 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $7.24 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.48 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $8.37 EPS.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%.
Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $510.80.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Murphy USA
Shares of MUSA opened at $469.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $488.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $503.49. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $382.04 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The stock has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.79.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.10%.
In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at $522,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,420 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 232.2% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 35,378 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $17,437,000 after acquiring an additional 24,727 shares during the period. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% in the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.
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.
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