Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.75.

A number of brokerages have commented on SUN. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sunoco from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Sunoco from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Sunoco Price Performance

SUN stock opened at $52.31 on Thursday. Sunoco has a 1 year low of $49.45 and a 1 year high of $64.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.60.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($1.79). The company had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 2.72%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sunoco will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.8756 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.70%. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SUN. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sunoco by 5,437.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 572,779 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,747,000 after buying an additional 562,435 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Sunoco by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,191,570 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $117,644,000 after acquiring an additional 455,361 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Sunoco by 176.6% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 700,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,591,000 after purchasing an additional 447,072 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Sunoco by 908,833.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,288 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,419,000 after purchasing an additional 436,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sunoco by 29.3% in the third quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 864,176 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $46,389,000 after purchasing an additional 195,583 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.