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

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.3750.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Sunoco from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sunoco from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Sunoco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunoco

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Sunoco by 6.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 159,128 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,239,000 after acquiring an additional 9,592 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sunoco by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 226.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,088 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 4,915 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 365,953 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,611,000 after acquiring an additional 18,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sunoco by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 37,488 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 2,810 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sunoco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SUN opened at $68.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $67.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.06. Sunoco has a 1 year low of $47.98 and a 1 year high of $72.88.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Sunoco’s quarterly revenue was up 106.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Sunoco will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

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

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.