Sunoco LP $SUN Shares Purchased by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp dramatically increased its stake in Sunoco, buying 204,749 shares in Q4 (a 1,562.3% increase) and ending the period with 217,855 shares worth about $11.42 million (0.11% of the company).
• Sunoco raised its quarterly dividend to $0.9899 (annualized $3.96), yielding about 6.0%, but the payout ratio is very high at 174.45%, which may raise sustainability concerns.
• Brokerages have mostly become more bullish—multiple firms raised price targets (JPMorgan to $73) and the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $67.83 target—yet Sunoco missed Q4 estimates (EPS $0.09 vs. $1.64 expected; revenue $8.60B vs. $9.65B) despite 63% YoY revenue growth.

M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) by 1,562.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,855 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 204,749 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.11% of Sunoco worth $11,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sunoco in the 4th quarter worth about $295,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sunoco in the 4th quarter worth about $142,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Sunoco in the 4th quarter worth about $166,000. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,475 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quad Cities Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 14,159 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SUN. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Sunoco from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Raymond James Financial raised Sunoco from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Sunoco from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sunoco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays set a $63.00 price target on Sunoco in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sunoco presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.83.

Sunoco Stock Performance

NYSE SUN opened at $65.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99 and a beta of 0.48. Sunoco LP has a 1-year low of $47.98 and a 1-year high of $67.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $64.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.83.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($1.55). The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.65 billion. Sunoco had a net margin of 2.01% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 63.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Sunoco LP will post 7.83 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.9899 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. This is an increase from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio is presently 174.45%.

Sunoco 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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