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

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.60.

SUN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Sunoco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Sunoco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price target on shares of Sunoco and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Sunoco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 159,128 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,239,000 after buying an additional 9,592 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Sunoco by 18.3% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 17,086 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group bought a new position in shares of Sunoco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $462,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sunoco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunoco by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 10,595 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Sunoco Price Performance

SUN stock opened at $59.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $55.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.39. Sunoco has a 1 year low of $47.98 and a 1 year high of $60.62. The stock has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.9317 per share. This represents a $3.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Sunoco’s payout ratio is currently 127.30%.

About Sunoco

Sunoco LP (NYSE: SUN) is an independent master limited partnership that specializes in the distribution and marketing of transportation fuels and related products. The company operates through two primary segments: wholesale fuel distribution and retail marketing. In wholesale distribution, Sunoco supplies branded fuels to distributors, commercial customers and resellers across the United States. Its retail marketing arm operates a network of company‐owned and franchised Sunoco branded service stations and convenience stores, providing gasoline, diesel, ethanol blends and lubricants to consumers.

Sunoco’s product portfolio extends beyond traditional fuels to include biofuels, specialty chemicals and on‐road diesel treated to meet ultra‐low sulfur requirements.