Stephens Inc. AR Takes Position in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Stephens Inc. AR bought a new stake in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,616 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SUN. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,000. Huntington National Bank raised 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 buying an additional 1,453 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Sunoco from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sunoco from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.50.

Sunoco Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of Sunoco stock opened at $53.32 on Friday. Sunoco LP has a 52-week low of $48.00 and a 52-week high of $59.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.04 and a 200-day moving average of $55.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.61.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.48). The business had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 20.34% and a net margin of 3.80%. The firm's revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.8976 per share. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.68%.

Sunoco Profile

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.

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