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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 $290.70, marking a +0.18% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.3%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.46%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.09%.

Heading into today, shares of the gasoline station operator had gained 0.91% over the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 1.84% and outpacing the S&P 500's loss of 4.13% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Murphy USA as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, Murphy USA is projected to report earnings of $5.62 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 41.21%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $6.22 billion, up 35.13% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $21.39 per share and revenue of $23.64 billion. These totals would mark changes of +43.36% and +36.17%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Murphy USA. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 11.17% higher. Murphy USA currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking at its valuation, Murphy USA is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 13.56. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 6.11.

The Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 4, which puts it in the top 2% 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.

To follow MUSA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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