Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.00.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Sunoco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays assumed coverage on Sunoco in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $61.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised Sunoco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Mizuho raised Sunoco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Sunoco in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $61.00 price target for the company.

Sunoco Stock Performance

SUN opened at $56.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $53.67 and a 200-day moving average of $57.47. Sunoco has a 52-week low of $43.00 and a 52-week high of $64.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The oil and gas company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. The company had revenue of $5.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.13 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 35.56% and a net margin of 2.08%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sunoco will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.876 dividend. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.24%. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is 77.95%.

Insider Transactions at Sunoco

In related news, EVP Brian A. Hand bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.59 per share, with a total value of $99,180.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 153,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,599,915.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Brian A. Hand bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.59 per share, with a total value of $99,180.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 153,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,599,915.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Joseph Kim bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $50.50 per share, with a total value of $252,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 9,500 shares of company stock valued at $479,570.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunoco

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. CNB Bank bought a new stake in Sunoco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Sunoco by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sunoco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.