Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.86.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SUN. Citigroup raised shares of Sunoco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Sunoco in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $61.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Sunoco from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Sunoco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised Sunoco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $59.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 4th.

Sunoco Trading Down 3.1 %

Sunoco stock opened at $55.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.31. Sunoco has a fifty-two week low of $43.85 and a fifty-two week high of $64.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The oil and gas company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. The business had revenue of $5.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.13 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 35.56% and a net margin of 2.08%. Equities research analysts forecast that Sunoco will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.876 dividend. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Sunoco’s payout ratio is 77.95%.

Insider Activity at Sunoco

In related news, CEO Joseph Kim purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.50 per share, with a total value of $252,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,000. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Austin Harkness acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $49.74 per share, with a total value of $49,740.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 83,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,162,541.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph Kim bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $50.50 per share, with a total value of $252,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 8,000 shares of company stock worth $401,420 in the last ninety days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Sunoco in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. CNB Bank purchased a new position in Sunoco during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Sunoco in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Sunoco by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

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.