Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish on Sunoco: Ten brokerages give the stock a consensus “Buy” rating, with eight buys, one strong buy and one hold. The average 12-month price target is $79, with several firms recently raising their targets.
• Sunoco reported mixed quarterly results, including $0.94 in EPS versus the $2.50 consensus estimate, but revenue surged 164.5% year over year to $14.26 billion, exceeding expectations.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.0023, equivalent to approximately $4.01 annually and a 5.5% yield. Institutional investors own 24.29% of Sunoco’s stock.

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SUN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Sunoco from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sunoco in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sunoco from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Sunoco from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Sunoco Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Sunoco stock opened at $73.23 on Wednesday. Sunoco has a 1 year low of $48.57 and a 1 year high of $80.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.62. The firm has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($1.56). Sunoco had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 2.88%.The company had revenue of $14.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 164.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sunoco will post 9.57 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $1.0023 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This is an increase from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. This represents a $4.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Sunoco's payout ratio is currently 88.72%.

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $243,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Sunoco in the 2nd quarter worth about $190,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 185.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 31,305 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 20,319 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sunoco by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 133,448 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $9,008,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Sunoco by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 369,073 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $24,912,000 after purchasing an additional 40,758 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company's stock.

About Sunoco

Sunoco LP NYSE: SUN is a publicly traded master limited partnership focused on the distribution, transportation and storage of motor fuels and other petroleum products. The company supplies gasoline, diesel and other fuels to independent dealers, commercial customers, distributors and retail operators, supporting fuel sales under the Sunoco brand and other brands.

Sunoco operates a broad logistics network that includes fuel terminals, pipelines, storage facilities, marine assets and other transportation infrastructure.

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