Stifel Financial Corp Acquires 39,079 Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) by 154.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,330 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,079 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Sunoco were worth $3,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Sunoco by 908,833.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $23,419,000 after purchasing an additional 436,240 shares during the period. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of Sunoco by 223.7% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 513,715 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $26,426,000 after purchasing an additional 355,000 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sunoco in the 4th quarter worth $17,739,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunoco by 32,166.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 231,351 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $12,137,000 after acquiring an additional 230,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sunoco by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,868,926 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $456,218,000 after buying an additional 198,859 shares in the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sunoco Stock Performance

NYSE SUN traded down $3.29 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $54.66. 2,009,557 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 492,016. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $56.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.04. Sunoco LP has a 1 year low of $48.00 and a 1 year high of $59.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 1.06.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.73). Sunoco had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 22.52%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.8976 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.57%. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SUN. Mizuho upped their price objective on Sunoco from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sunoco from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Sunoco from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunoco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.33.

About Sunoco

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.