Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Purchases New Holdings in Sunoco LP $SUN

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI has acquired 27,200 shares of Sunoco LP, valued at approximately $1.58 million, as part of its investment activities in the first quarter.
• Sunoco recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.9088 per share, representing a 7.1% dividend yield, despite a payout ratio of 179.31%.
• Sunoco reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.33, missing estimates, as its revenue declined 12.7% year-over-year to $5.39 billion.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 27,200 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,579,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Sunoco by 12.3% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 23,132,625 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,343,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529,170 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Sunoco by 3.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,165,717 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $532,162,000 after buying an additional 296,791 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Sunoco by 14.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,978,209 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $172,915,000 after buying an additional 369,508 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its position in Sunoco by 2.6% during the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,810,296 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $105,106,000 after buying an additional 45,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Sunoco by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 888,862 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $45,723,000 after buying an additional 24,686 shares in the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sunoco Price Performance

SUN traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.15. 250,635 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 333,806. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Sunoco LP has a one year low of $48.00 and a one year high of $59.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.59.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by ($1.35). Sunoco had a net margin of 2.02% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.85 EPS. The business's revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict 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, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.9088 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. This is an increase from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio is presently 179.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SUN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Sunoco from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho decreased their target price on Sunoco from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.50.

Sunoco Company 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.