Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $62.39 and traded as high as $68.47. Sunoco shares last traded at $67.9060, with a volume of 242,185 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on SUN shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sunoco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sunoco from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sunoco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.38.

Sunoco Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.50.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $1.14. Sunoco had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 3.07%.The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 106.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sunoco LP will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.9899 dividend. This is a positive change from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.28%.

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sunoco in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sunoco by 496.5% during the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sunoco during the first quarter worth about $78,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sunoco by 110.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.