Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.1250.

A number of research firms recently commented on SUN. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Sunoco in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sunoco from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Sunoco from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Sunoco from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Sunoco to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunoco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sunoco by 496.5% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sunoco in the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in Sunoco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Sunoco by 110.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sunoco Stock Performance

NYSE:SUN opened at $71.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.36 and its 200-day moving average is $59.78. Sunoco has a 1-year low of $47.98 and a 1-year high of $72.88.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 106.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sunoco will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.9899 dividend. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Sunoco’s payout ratio is presently 101.28%.

About Sunoco

Sunoco LP (NYSE: SUN) is an independent master limited partnership that specializes in the distribution and marketing of transportation fuels and related products. The company operates through two primary segments: wholesale fuel distribution and retail marketing. In wholesale distribution, Sunoco supplies branded fuels to distributors, commercial customers and resellers across the United States. Its retail marketing arm operates a network of company‐owned and franchised Sunoco branded service stations and convenience stores, providing gasoline, diesel, ethanol blends and lubricants to consumers.

Sunoco’s product portfolio extends beyond traditional fuels to include biofuels, specialty chemicals and on‐road diesel treated to meet ultra‐low sulfur requirements.