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

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $65.60.

SUN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sunoco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays set a $60.00 target price on shares of Sunoco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial raised Sunoco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Sunoco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price objective on Sunoco and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SUN. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco during the 3rd quarter worth about $644,000. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunoco by 58.2% during the third quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 228,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,424,000 after acquiring an additional 84,000 shares during the period. Lee Financial Co raised its holdings in Sunoco by 573.1% during the third quarter. Lee Financial Co now owns 25,705 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 21,886 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Sunoco by 470.0% during the second quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 113,263 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,070,000 after purchasing an additional 93,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its position in Sunoco by 4.0% in the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 670,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,920,000 after purchasing an additional 25,757 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sunoco Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Sunoco stock opened at $58.32 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.22. Sunoco has a fifty-two week low of $47.98 and a fifty-two week high of $59.88. The firm has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.9317 per share. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Sunoco’s payout ratio is currently 127.30%.

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.