Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Short Interest Update

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,630,000 shares, a decrease of 14.2% from the March 31st total of 1,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 476,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on SUN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sunoco from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho increased their target price on Sunoco from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Sunoco from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunoco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SUN. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the fourth quarter worth about $256,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Sunoco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Sunoco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,852,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Sunoco by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 30,131 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 8,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sunoco during the 4th quarter valued at $17,739,000. 24.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sunoco Price Performance

SUN stock opened at $57.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.98. The company has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78 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. Sunoco has a 12-month low of $48.00 and a 12-month high of $59.88.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Sunoco will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.8976 per share. This is a positive change from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. Sunoco’s payout ratio is presently 54.39%.

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.