Head-To-Head Survey: Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) versus Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA)

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) and Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.8% of Murphy USA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.6% of Urban Outfitters shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.0% of Murphy USA shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 32.1% of Urban Outfitters shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Murphy USA and Urban Outfitters”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Murphy USA	$19.38 billion	0.46	$470.60 million	$35.67	13.68
Urban Outfitters	$6.17 billion	1.28	$464.92 million	$6.41	14.34

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Murphy USA and Urban Outfitters, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Murphy USA	0	5	6	0	2.55
Urban Outfitters	0	8	9	0	2.53

Murphy USA presently has a consensus target price of $606.33, indicating a potential upside of 24.25%. Urban Outfitters has a consensus target price of $90.54, indicating a potential downside of 1.50%. Given Murphy USA’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Murphy USA is more favorable than Urban Outfitters.

Profitability

This table compares Murphy USA and Urban Outfitters’ 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%
Urban Outfitters	8.79%	18.64%	10.34%

Volatility and Risk

Murphy USA has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Urban Outfitters has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Murphy USA beats Urban Outfitters on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Murphy USA

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.

About Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters, Inc. engages in the retail and wholesale of general consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Nuuly. It operates Urban Outfitters stores, which offer women's and men's fashion apparel, activewear, intimates, footwear, accessories, home goods, electronics, and beauty products for young adults aged 18 to 28; and Anthropologie stores that provide women's apparel, accessories, intimates, shoes, and home furnishings, as well as gifts, decorative items, and beauty and wellness products for women aged 28 to 45. The company also operates Terrain stores that provide lifestyle home products, garden and outdoor living products, antiques, live plants, flowers, wellness products, and accessories. In addition, it operates Free People retail stores, which offer casual women's apparel, intimates, activewear, shoes, accessories, home products, gifts, and beauty and wellness products for young women aged 25 to 30; and restaurants, as well as women's apparel subscription rental service under the Nuuly brand. Further, the company is involved in the wholesale of young women's contemporary casual apparel, intimates, activewear, and shoes under the Free People brand; and apparel collections under the Urban Outfitters brand. The company serves its customers directly through retail stores, websites, mobile applications, catalogs and customer contact centers, franchisee-owned stores, and department and specialty stores, as well as social media and third-party digital platforms. Urban Outfitters, Inc. was founded in 1970 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.