Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.25.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Sunoco from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sunoco from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco during the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. 24.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sunoco Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE SUN opened at $53.83 on Wednesday. Sunoco has a 12 month low of $49.45 and a 12 month high of $64.89. The stock has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($1.79). Sunoco had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 2.72%. The company had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sunoco will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.8756 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. Sunoco’s payout ratio is 80.46%.

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.