NEW YORK — A recent comparison of fuel margins by publicly owned convenience store companies shows gasoline margins for the month of October increased 46% compared to the previous year and were up 15% from October, typically a seasonally weaker month.

“Though we expect margins will seasonally decline over the coming weeks, they remain above historic averages,” Morgan Keegan reported in its “Monthly Grab-N-Go” research note for November.

“Strong retail fuel margins were reported for the most recent quarter by Casey’s General Stores, Delek U.S., TravelCenters of America and Susser Holdings/Stripes. With October and November industry margins exceeding historic averages, our calendar Q4 estimates seem conservative,” stated to the report.

National fuel margin averaged 21.6 cents per gallon (CPG) for the month of November, or approximately 6.9 CPG above the same month 2010, Morgan Keegan reported.

The investment-banking firm estimates the following margins:

• Casey’s General Stores: 14.0 CPG for January 2012.
• Delek US: 13.0 CPG for December 2011.
• The Pantry: 14.0 CPG for September 2011.
• Susser Holdings: 18.0 CPG for December 2011.
• TravelCenters of America: 12.4 CPG for December 2011.