Energy Income Partners LLC Sells 54,644 Shares of Sunoco LP $SUN

Key Points

• Energy Income Partners LLC reduced its Sunoco stake by 2.8%, selling 54,644 shares and retaining 1.90 million shares valued at approximately $123.5 million.
• Several major investors increased their positions, including JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Infrastructure Capital Advisors; institutional investors collectively own 24.29% of Sunoco.
• Analysts remain bullish, with Sunoco receiving an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $77.12. The company also reported quarterly EPS of $2.85, well above the $1.71 estimate, while revenue rose 106.4% year over year.

Energy Income Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,901,251 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 54,644 shares during the quarter. Sunoco comprises about 2.0% of Energy Income Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Energy Income Partners LLC owned 0.93% of Sunoco worth $123,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Sunoco by 266.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,626,278 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $85,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182,662 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sunoco by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 24,856,265 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,302,717,000 after purchasing an additional 766,781 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Sunoco by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,639,420 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $85,922,000 after buying an additional 617,700 shares during the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sunoco by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 972,935 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $63,212,000 after buying an additional 247,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 1,562.3% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 217,855 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $11,418,000 after buying an additional 204,749 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SUN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Sunoco from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sunoco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Sunoco from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on Sunoco from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Sunoco in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sunoco currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.12.

Sunoco Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Sunoco stock opened at $74.33 on Tuesday. Sunoco LP has a 1-year low of $47.98 and a 1-year high of $77.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $68.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 0.42.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $1.14. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.19 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 3.07%.Sunoco's revenue was up 106.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sunoco LP will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunoco Company Profile

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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