Raymond James & Associates Sells 4,424 Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its position in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,699 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,424 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Sunoco were worth $4,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 26,345.6% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 1,351,368 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $76,406,000 after buying an additional 1,346,258 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 176.6% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 700,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,591,000 after buying an additional 447,072 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 33.4% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 583,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,981,000 after buying an additional 146,152 shares during the period. Adams Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 82.3% in the second quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 571,538 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,315,000 after buying an additional 258,103 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 42.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 276,829 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,652,000 after buying an additional 83,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Sunoco Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SUN opened at $50.91 on Friday. Sunoco LP has a 1 year low of $49.45 and a 1 year high of $64.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.91 and its 200 day moving average is $53.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 1.31.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $2.62. Sunoco had a return on equity of 41.76% and a net margin of 3.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sunoco LP will post 8.07 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.8756 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.88%. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Sunoco from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Sunoco from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sunoco from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sunoco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.25.

Sunoco Company Profile

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.