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Murphy USA (MUSA) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Murphy USA (MUSA - Free Report) closed at $248.12, marking a +0.81% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.84%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.33%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.67%.

Coming into today, shares of the gasoline station operator had lost 0.03% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector gained 14.09%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.5%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Murphy USA as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.65, down 2.92% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $6.09 billion, up 36.71% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $16.82 per share and revenue of $22.52 billion. These totals would mark changes of +12.73% and +29.69%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Murphy USA. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 30.58% higher within the past month. Murphy USA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

In terms of valuation, Murphy USA is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.64. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.99.

The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 20, putting it in the top 8% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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