Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $17.74 Million Investment in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 344,839 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.23% of Sunoco as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in Sunoco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sunoco by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sunoco by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Sunoco by 90.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,723 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Sunoco by 112.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,446 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,295 shares during the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Sunoco from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho lifted their target price on Sunoco from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Sunoco from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.67.

Sunoco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SUN opened at $58.81 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Sunoco LP has a 1-year low of $49.45 and a 1-year high of $62.55. The company has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.8865 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.03%. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is 53.64%.

Sunoco 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.