Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Share Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Sunoco shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $73.74 compared with the average of $70.07, though they remained below the 50-day average of $75.58.
• Analysts are broadly bullish, with Sunoco carrying an average “Buy” rating and a $79 price target; JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Barclays recently raised their targets.
• Sunoco increased its quarterly dividend to $1.0023, equivalent to an annualized $4.01 payout and a 5.5% yield. However, quarterly EPS of $0.94 missed the $2.50 consensus estimate despite revenue rising 164.5% year over year.

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $70.07 and traded as high as $73.74. Sunoco shares last traded at $72.9670, with a volume of 514,744 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SUN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sunoco from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sunoco in a 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, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sunoco from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sunoco presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $79.00.

Sunoco Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.07.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($1.56). The company had revenue of $14.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.05 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 2.88%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 164.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Sunoco LP will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $1.0023 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.9899. This represents a $4.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio is 88.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunoco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sunoco by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,908 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,596,000 after purchasing an additional 9,236 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Sunoco during the 2nd quarter valued at $243,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the second quarter valued at $190,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 185.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 31,305 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 20,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sunoco by 1.1% in the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 133,448 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $9,008,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.29% of the company's stock.

About Sunoco

Sunoco LP is a publicly traded master limited partnership that distributes and markets motor fuel in the United States. The company supplies gasoline, diesel, and other refined products to independent dealers, commercial customers, distributors, and convenience-store operators. It also supports fuel sales through the Sunoco brand, which is licensed to retail locations operated by third parties.

In addition to fuel distribution, Sunoco owns and operates a network of refined-product terminals and pipelines used to receive, store, transport, and deliver motor fuels and other petroleum products.

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