Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Position Lifted by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) by 41.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,131 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,782 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Sunoco were worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Sunoco by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 10,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Sunoco by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 25,251 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,905 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,627 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sunoco Stock Up 0.2 %

SUN stock opened at $58.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. Sunoco LP has a fifty-two week low of $49.45 and a fifty-two week high of $64.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.59. The stock has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 1.36.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.73). Sunoco had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 3.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.8865 dividend. This represents a $3.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SUN. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Sunoco from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sunoco from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Sunoco from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sunoco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.83.

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.