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

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.1250.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sunoco from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sunoco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Sunoco to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Sunoco from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Sunoco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st.

Sunoco Price Performance

Shares of SUN opened at $71.83 on Thursday. Sunoco has a 52-week low of $47.98 and a 52-week high of $72.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $66.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.78. The firm has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.9899 per share. This is a positive change from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunoco

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sunoco in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sunoco by 496.5% in the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Cresta Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in Sunoco in the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sunoco in the 1st quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Sunoco by 110.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

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.