Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Given New $73.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) had its price objective boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SUN. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Sunoco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $63.00 price target on Sunoco in a report on Friday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Sunoco from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Sunoco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunoco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.83.

Sunoco Stock Performance

Shares of SUN stock opened at $65.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.84 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Sunoco has a 12 month low of $47.98 and a 12 month high of $67.82.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($1.55). The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.65 billion. Sunoco had a net margin of 2.01% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 63.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sunoco will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.9317 per share. This represents a $3.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Sunoco’s payout ratio is presently 164.32%.

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Sunoco during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sunoco by 110.3% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.