Sunoco LP $SUN Stock: Alps Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake

Key Points

• Alps Advisors cut its Sunoco stake by 4.6%, selling 1.11 million shares, but retained 23.32 million shares worth about $1.70 billion—7.5% of its portfolio and its second-largest holding.
• Sunoco reported quarterly EPS of $2.07, missing the $2.46 consensus estimate, despite revenue of $18.03 billion versus expectations of $11.76 billion.
• Sunoco raised its quarterly dividend to $1.0148 per share, equivalent to $4.06 annually and a 6.6% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was Buy, with an average price target of $80.12.

Alps Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Sunoco LP (TXSE:SUN - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,323,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 1,112,433 shares during the period. Sunoco accounts for 7.5% of Alps Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 11.39% of Sunoco worth $1,699,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Sunoco by 15.9% in the third quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Sunoco by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 53,305 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,884,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $238,000. Americana Partners LLC bought a new stake in Sunoco during the third quarter worth $207,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Sunoco by 2,633.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $21,861,000 after purchasing an additional 289,024 shares in the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SUN shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sunoco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Sunoco in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sunoco in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sunoco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $83.00 price target on Sunoco in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.12.

Sunoco Stock Performance

TXSE:SUN opened at $61.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.42. Sunoco LP has a twelve month low of $49.98 and a twelve month high of $80.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.78 and a 200-day moving average of $68.62.

Sunoco (TXSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $18.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.76 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 2.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sunoco LP will post 10.60 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.0148 per share. This represents a $4.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This is an increase from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $1.0023. Sunoco's payout ratio is currently 68.07%.

Sunoco Profile

Sunoco LP NYSE: SUN is a master limited partnership focused primarily on the distribution and wholesale marketing of motor fuels. The company supplies gasoline, diesel and other refined products to independent fuel retailers, commercial customers, distributors and other end users, including customers operating under the Sunoco brand.

Sunoco's operations include fuel terminals, pipelines, transportation assets and other logistics infrastructure used to receive, store, blend and deliver petroleum products.

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