Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.00.

Several analysts recently commented on SUN shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sunoco from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Sunoco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Sunoco in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Sunoco in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Sunoco in a report on Wednesday, November 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunoco

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SUN. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Sunoco by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 346,963 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $20,145,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,129,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Sunoco by 110.1% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Sunoco during the first quarter worth about $312,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Sunoco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $254,000. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Sunoco Price Performance

Shares of Sunoco stock opened at $52.18 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.56. Sunoco has a twelve month low of $47.98 and a twelve month high of $59.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 3.11.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by ($0.90). The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 2.61%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.26) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Sunoco will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 30th were paid a dividend of $0.9202 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 30th. Sunoco’s payout ratio is currently 125.60%.

Sunoco Company Profile

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.