Brokerages Set Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) PT at $64.60

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.50.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SUN shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Sunoco in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price target on Sunoco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Sunoco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sunoco in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Sunoco during the third quarter worth $31,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the second quarter valued at $41,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 41.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Sunoco by 95.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,379 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Sunoco during the 2nd quarter worth about $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Sunoco Stock Performance

NYSE:SUN opened at $52.12 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.17. Sunoco has a 1-year low of $47.98 and a 1-year high of $59.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68 and a beta of 0.55.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by ($0.90). Sunoco had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 2.02%.The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.26) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Sunoco will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 30th will be issued a $0.9202 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 181.28%.

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.