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

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.00.

SUN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sunoco in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Sunoco from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Sunoco from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Sunoco from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $83.00 target price on Sunoco in a report on Friday, July 24th.

Sunoco Price Performance

NYSE:SUN opened at $75.87 on Friday. Sunoco has a 52-week low of $47.98 and a 52-week high of $78.11. The company has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.31.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($1.56). The company had revenue of $14.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. Sunoco had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 164.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sunoco will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $1.0023 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. This represents a $4.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Sunoco’s payout ratio is currently 88.72%.

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SUN. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sunoco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sunoco during the first quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

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.