Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Stock Price Up 4.7%

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)’s stock price rose 4.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $53.90 and last traded at $53.53. Approximately 524,081 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 461,702 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SUN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sunoco from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays increased their price target on Sunoco from $57.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Mizuho increased their target price on Sunoco from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sunoco from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.71.

Sunoco Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.82. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported ($1.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($2.46). The business had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 37.91% and a net margin of 1.71%. Sunoco’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sunoco LP will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a $0.842 dividend. This represents a $3.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SUN. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Sunoco by 60.0% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.