Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN – Get Rating) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

SUN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Mizuho upgraded Sunoco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Sunoco from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Sunoco from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.67.

Sunoco Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:SUN opened at $38.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.14. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. Sunoco has a 52-week low of $34.26 and a 52-week high of $46.95.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 4th. The oil and gas company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $1.43. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.50 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 70.31% and a net margin of 3.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 55.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sunoco will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sunoco

In related news, CEO Joseph Kim bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $35.49 per share, for a total transaction of $177,450.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,450. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 60.3% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,549 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 959 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,458 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 17.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sunoco

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Sunoco LP, together with its subsidiaries, distributes and retails motor fuels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Fuel Distribution and Marketing, and All Other. The Fuel Distribution and Marketing segment purchases motor fuel from independent refiners and oil companies and supplies it to independently operated dealer stations, distributors and other consumer of motor fuel, and partnership operated stations, as well as to commission agent locations.