Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $72.90 and last traded at $72.8190, with a volume of 52936 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SUN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Sunoco from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sunoco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Sunoco in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Sunoco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sunoco presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $74.75.

Sunoco Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $14.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $67.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.57.

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

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.9899 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is 101.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunoco

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SUN. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sunoco by 496.5% in the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Cresta Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco during the first quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 110.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

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.