Cooperman Leon G Buys 150,000 Shares of Sunoco LP $SUN

Key Points

• Cooperman Leon G increased its stake in Sunoco by 10.2%, buying an additional 150,000 shares to hold 1,620,000 shares (≈0.79% of Sunoco) worth about $81.02M, making Sunoco ~2.5% of its portfolio and its 15th-largest position.
• Sunoco posted a significant quarterly EPS miss (EPS $0.09 vs. $1.64 expected) and revenue of $8.60B (below $9.65B consensus) despite 63.2% YoY revenue growth, and analysts show mixed ratings with an average "Moderate Buy" and a $66.83 target price.
• Sunoco raised its quarterly dividend to $0.9317 (annualized $3.73), yielding about 5.8%, but the dividend payout ratio is elevated at roughly 164.3%.

Cooperman Leon G increased its stake in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) by 10.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,620,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the quarter. Sunoco comprises approximately 2.5% of Cooperman Leon G's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Cooperman Leon G owned about 0.79% of Sunoco worth $81,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,249 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Sunoco by 2.1% in the second quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,302 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC raised its stake in Sunoco by 2.8% in the third quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 9,036 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP lifted its position in Sunoco by 0.7% during the third quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 39,088 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sunoco by 3.4% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,886 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SUN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $63.00 target price on shares of Sunoco in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Sunoco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sunoco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Sunoco from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.83.

Sunoco Stock Performance

NYSE SUN opened at $64.44 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $59.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.79. The stock has a market cap of $13.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.39 and a beta of 0.49. Sunoco LP has a fifty-two week low of $47.98 and a fifty-two week high of $65.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($1.55). Sunoco had a net margin of 2.01% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 63.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $0.9317 dividend. This is a boost from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio is 164.32%.

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.

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