Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $64.80.

A number of brokerages recently commented on SUN. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, April 24th.

Sunoco Stock Down 0.1%

Sunoco stock opened at $53.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16 and a beta of 0.62. Sunoco has a fifty-two week low of $48.00 and a fifty-two week high of $59.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.48). Sunoco had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Sunoco will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.8976 per share. This is a positive change from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.66%. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio is 64.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SUN. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sunoco during the 1st quarter worth $1,820,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Sunoco in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,579,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sunoco during the first quarter valued at approximately $199,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $172,915,000 after purchasing an additional 369,508 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sunoco by 3.4% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,523 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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