Contrasting Murphy USA (MUSA) and Its Competitors

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) is one of 285 public companies in the “Specialty Retail” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Murphy USA to related companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Murphy USA and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Murphy USA	0	5	6	0	2.55
Murphy USA Competitors	3661	15555	21587	586	2.46

Murphy USA currently has a consensus target price of $606.33, suggesting a potential upside of 13.21%. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies have a potential upside of 8.89%. Given Murphy USA’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Murphy USA is more favorable than its rivals.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Murphy USA and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Murphy USA	$19.38 billion	$470.60 million	15.02
Murphy USA Competitors	$7.05 billion	$386.47 million	31.96

Murphy USA has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Murphy USA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Volatility and Risk

Murphy USA has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Murphy USA’s rivals have a beta of 1.66, indicating that their average stock price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.8% of Murphy USA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are owned by institutional investors. 9.0% of Murphy USA shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 20.5% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Murphy USA pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA pays out 7.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.1% and pay out 35.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Murphy USA has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Murphy USA and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Murphy USA	2.85%	92.81%	13.36%
Murphy USA Competitors	-3.67%	-13.85%	3.19%

Summary

Murphy USA beats its rivals on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

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. Murphy USA Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.