We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Murphy USA's (MUSA) Stock Moves Up Since Q2 Earnings Beat
Read MoreHide Full Article
The stock of motor fuel retailer Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA - Free Report) has gained 1.7% since its second-quarter earnings announcement on Jul 28. The company managed to score top and bottom-line beats.
What Did Murphy USA’s Earnings Unveil?
Murphy USA announced second-quarter 2021 earnings per share of $4.79, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.39. The outperformance could be attributed to higher retail gasoline price and contribution from the QuickChek acquisition.
However, the company’s bottom line compared unfavorably with the year-earlier quarter's earnings of $5.73 due to a lower retail margin of 28.2 cents per gallon that fell 26.4% year over year.
Meanwhile, Murphy USA’s operating revenues of $4.5 billion soared 87.3% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $117 million due to improved petroleum product sales.
Revenues from petroleum product sales came in at $3.4 billion, more than doubling from the second quarter of 2020 and 3.18% above the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Merchandise sales, at $963.4 million, rose 25.6% year over year but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $975 million.
The company’s total fuel contribution fell 2.5% year over year to $316.6 million due to margin contraction, partially offset by higher volumes. Total fuel contribution (including retail fuel margin plus product supply and wholesale results) came in at 28.2 cents per gallon, which declined 26.4% from the second quarter of 2020.
Retail fuel contribution was down 9% year over year to $244.7 million as margins decreased to 21.8 cents per gallon from 31.7 cents in the corresponding period of 2020. Retail gallons rose 32.6% from the year-ago period to 1,123.4 million in the quarter under review and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.48%. Volumes on an SSS basis (or fuel gallons per month) improved 24.2% from the second quarter of 2020. Meanwhile, the average retail gasoline price during the quarter was $2.73 per gallon, surging from $1.71 per gallon a year ago.
Contribution from Merchandise increased 55.8% to $184.5 million on higher sales and better unit margins, which, at 19.2%, moved up from the year-ago period’s 15.4%. On an SSS basis, total merchandise contribution was up 2.4% year over year in the quarter under review on the back of 2.2% higher tobacco margins. Meanwhile, merchandise sales rose 1.1% on an SSS basis, driven by an increase of 3.7% in non-tobacco sales.
Fuel gallons were up 24.5% from the prior-year period while merchandise sales increased 13.1% on an average per store month (or APSM) basis.
Balance Sheet
As of Jun 30, Murphy USA — which opened three new retail locations and closed one in the quarter to take its store count to 1,662 — had cash and cash equivalents of $165 million, and long-term debt (including lease obligations) of $1.8 billion, with a debt-to-capitalization of 70.3%.
During the quarter, the company bought back shares worth $148.3 million.
Guidance
The company projects 2021 fuel volume in a range of 232-238 thousand gallons on APSM basis, decreasing from 245-255 before. The downward revision reflects a less-than-expected pickup in volumes. Further, Murphy USA’s 2021 guidance includes 34 to 38 new stores and up to 31 raze-and-rebuilds, $690-$700 million in merchandise margin contribution, and $325-$375 million in capital expenditures.
Zacks Rank & Stock Picks
Murphy USA carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked players in the energy space are Ovintiv (OVV - Free Report) , EOG Resources (EOG - Free Report) and Suncor Energy (SU - Free Report) . All the companies sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Image: Bigstock
Murphy USA's (MUSA) Stock Moves Up Since Q2 Earnings Beat
The stock of motor fuel retailer Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA - Free Report) has gained 1.7% since its second-quarter earnings announcement on Jul 28. The company managed to score top and bottom-line beats.
What Did Murphy USA’s Earnings Unveil?
Murphy USA announced second-quarter 2021 earnings per share of $4.79, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.39. The outperformance could be attributed to higher retail gasoline price and contribution from the QuickChek acquisition.
However, the company’s bottom line compared unfavorably with the year-earlier quarter's earnings of $5.73 due to a lower retail margin of 28.2 cents per gallon that fell 26.4% year over year.
Meanwhile, Murphy USA’s operating revenues of $4.5 billion soared 87.3% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $117 million due to improved petroleum product sales.
Revenues from petroleum product sales came in at $3.4 billion, more than doubling from the second quarter of 2020 and 3.18% above the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Merchandise sales, at $963.4 million, rose 25.6% year over year but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $975 million.
Murphy USA Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Murphy USA Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Murphy USA Inc. Quote
Key Takeaways
The company’s total fuel contribution fell 2.5% year over year to $316.6 million due to margin contraction, partially offset by higher volumes. Total fuel contribution (including retail fuel margin plus product supply and wholesale results) came in at 28.2 cents per gallon, which declined 26.4% from the second quarter of 2020.
Retail fuel contribution was down 9% year over year to $244.7 million as margins decreased to 21.8 cents per gallon from 31.7 cents in the corresponding period of 2020. Retail gallons rose 32.6% from the year-ago period to 1,123.4 million in the quarter under review and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.48%. Volumes on an SSS basis (or fuel gallons per month) improved 24.2% from the second quarter of 2020. Meanwhile, the average retail gasoline price during the quarter was $2.73 per gallon, surging from $1.71 per gallon a year ago.
Contribution from Merchandise increased 55.8% to $184.5 million on higher sales and better unit margins, which, at 19.2%, moved up from the year-ago period’s 15.4%. On an SSS basis, total merchandise contribution was up 2.4% year over year in the quarter under review on the back of 2.2% higher tobacco margins. Meanwhile, merchandise sales rose 1.1% on an SSS basis, driven by an increase of 3.7% in non-tobacco sales.
Fuel gallons were up 24.5% from the prior-year period while merchandise sales increased 13.1% on an average per store month (or APSM) basis.
Balance Sheet
As of Jun 30, Murphy USA — which opened three new retail locations and closed one in the quarter to take its store count to 1,662 — had cash and cash equivalents of $165 million, and long-term debt (including lease obligations) of $1.8 billion, with a debt-to-capitalization of 70.3%.
During the quarter, the company bought back shares worth $148.3 million.
Guidance
The company projects 2021 fuel volume in a range of 232-238 thousand gallons on APSM basis, decreasing from 245-255 before. The downward revision reflects a less-than-expected pickup in volumes. Further, Murphy USA’s 2021 guidance includes 34 to 38 new stores and up to 31 raze-and-rebuilds, $690-$700 million in merchandise margin contribution, and $325-$375 million in capital expenditures.
Zacks Rank & Stock Picks
Murphy USA carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked players in the energy space are Ovintiv (OVV - Free Report) , EOG Resources (EOG - Free Report) and Suncor Energy (SU - Free Report) . All the companies sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Ovintiv has an expected earnings growth rate of 1,177.14% for the current year.
EOG Resources has an expected earnings growth rate of 389.04% for the current year.
Suncor Energy has an expected earnings growth rate of 281.82% for the current year.