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

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.14.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SUN. Citigroup upgraded Sunoco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays cut their price objective on Sunoco from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sunoco from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Sunoco Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of SUN opened at $53.15 on Tuesday. Sunoco has a 52-week low of $48.64 and a 52-week high of $64.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.59. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 1.30.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $3.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $2.62. Sunoco had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 41.76%. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Sunoco’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sunoco will post 8.09 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.8756 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.59%. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sunoco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,888,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Sunoco by 176.6% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 700,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,591,000 after purchasing an additional 447,072 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Sunoco by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,901 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,747,000 after purchasing an additional 8,764 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sunoco by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,296 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Sunoco by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 10,447 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Sunoco Company Profile

Sunoco LP, together with its subsidiaries, distributes and retails motor fuels in the United States. It operates through two segments: Fuel Distribution and Marketing, and All Other. The Fuel Distribution and Marketing segment purchases motor fuel, as well as other petroleum products, such as propane and lubricating oil from independent refiners and oil companies and supplies it to company-operated retail stores, independently operated commission agents, and retail stores, as well as other commercial customers, including unbranded retail stores, other fuel distributors, school districts, municipalities, and other industrial customers.