Ultrapar Participacoes (UGP) versus Murphy USA (MUSA) Head-To-Head Analysis

Murphy USA (NYSE: MUSA) and Ultrapar Participacoes (NYSE:UGP) are both mid-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Murphy USA has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ultrapar Participacoes has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Murphy USA and Ultrapar Participacoes, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Murphy USA	0	3	1	0	2.25
Ultrapar Participacoes	1	2	0	0	1.67

Murphy USA currently has a consensus target price of $83.33, suggesting a potential upside of 24.01%. Given Murphy USA’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Murphy USA is more favorable than Ultrapar Participacoes.

Profitability

This table compares Murphy USA and Ultrapar Participacoes’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Murphy USA	1.15%	20.19%	6.78%
Ultrapar Participacoes	1.86%	16.88%	6.42%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Murphy USA and Ultrapar Participacoes’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Murphy USA	$10.32 billion	0.23	$367.97 million	$3.73	18.02
Ultrapar Participacoes	$24.44 billion	0.51	$1.21 billion	$0.80	28.26

Ultrapar Participacoes has higher revenue and earnings than Murphy USA. Murphy USA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ultrapar Participacoes, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Ultrapar Participacoes pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Murphy USA does not pay a dividend. Ultrapar Participacoes pays out 65.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.9% of Murphy USA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.3% of Ultrapar Participacoes shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.3% of Murphy USA shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Murphy USA beats Ultrapar Participacoes on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc. is engaged in the marketing of retail motor fuel products and merchandise through a chain of retail stores. The Company operates through the Marketing segment. The Marketing segment includes its retail marketing sites and product supply, and wholesale assets. As of December 31, 2016, its retail stores were located in 26 states, primarily in the Southwest, Southeast and Midwest the United States. Out of the total 1,401 stores, 1,152 were branded Murphy USA and 249 were Murphy Express locations, as of December 31, 2016. Its retail stores under the brand name Murphy USA participate in the Walmart discount program. The Walmart discount program offers a cents-off per gallon purchased for fuel when using specific payment methods as decided by Walmart and the Company. Its business also includes product supply and wholesale assets, including product distribution terminals and pipeline positions.

About Ultrapar Participacoes

Ultrapar Participacoes SA is a Brazil-based company primarily engaged in the automotive fuel retail. The Company operates in five segments: Gas distribution (Ultragaz), which distributes liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to residential, commercial and industrial consumers in the South, Southeast and Northeast regions of Brazil; Fuel distribution (Ipiranga), which operates the distribution and marketing of gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles and lubricants, as well as provides related activities across the Brazilian territory; Chemicals (Oxiteno), which produces ethylene oxide, as well as its primary derivatives and fatty alcohols; Storage (Ultracargo), which operates liquid bulk terminals, primarily in the Southeast and Northeast regions of Brazil, and Drugstores (Extrafarma), which trades pharmaceutical, hygiene and beauty products through its drugstore chain in the states of Para and Piaui, among others.