Gateway Advisory LLC Makes New $1.22 Million Investment in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Gateway Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 21,607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,222,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SUN. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Sunoco by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 540,949 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,419,000 after purchasing an additional 219,482 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Sunoco by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 355,677 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $21,316,000 after buying an additional 96,245 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the fourth quarter valued at $905,000. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sunoco Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of Sunoco stock opened at $54.14 on Tuesday. Sunoco LP has a 1 year low of $46.36 and a 1 year high of $64.89. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.20.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $3.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $2.62. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.63 billion. Sunoco had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 41.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Sunoco LP will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.8756 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.47%. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is 77.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SUN has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Sunoco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $59.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Sunoco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup upgraded Sunoco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Sunoco from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.14.

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.