Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $48.00 and last traded at $48.96, with a volume of 140840 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SUN shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Sunoco from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Sunoco from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Sunoco from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sunoco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.83.

Sunoco Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.62.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.73). Sunoco had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 3.85%. On average, analysts expect that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.8865 per share. This represents a $3.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.81%. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.64%.

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 96,377 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,236,000 after buying an additional 10,080 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Sunoco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $256,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Sunoco by 26.2% in the third 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. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Sunoco in the fourth quarter worth $239,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sunoco by 4.1% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 27,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sunoco

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.