Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Shares Purchased by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 687,244 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 92,187 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned about 0.45% of Sunoco worth $39,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Sunoco in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Sunoco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $90,000. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Sunoco by 440.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,783 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Sunoco during the 4th quarter valued at $102,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SUN shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Sunoco from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Sunoco from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Sunoco from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.75.

Sunoco Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:SUN traded up $0.55 on Friday, reaching $55.00. The company had a trading volume of 251,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,203. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Sunoco LP has a 52-week low of $48.00 and a 52-week high of $59.88. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $54.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.42.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.48). The company had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Sunoco had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 20.34%. Sunoco's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.8976 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.53%. This is an increase from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Sunoco's payout ratio is presently 64.68%.

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.