Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on SUN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sunoco from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Barclays set a $63.00 price target on Sunoco in a research report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Sunoco from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Sunoco from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sunoco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.83.

Sunoco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SUN opened at $64.82 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.38. Sunoco has a 52 week low of $47.98 and a 52 week high of $67.82. The firm has a market cap of $13.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.9317 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Sunoco’s payout ratio is presently 163.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sunoco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sunoco in the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Sunoco by 110.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

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.