Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Sunoco LP has a consensus analyst rating of "Buy", with 10 analysts covering the stock: eight buy ratings, one strong buy, and one hold. The average 12-month price target is $74.38.
• The company recently reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.85 versus the $1.71 estimate and revenue of $10.69 billion, which also topped forecasts. Revenue jumped 106.4% year over year.
• Sunoco also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.9899 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $3.96 and a yield of about 5.8%. However, the payout ratio is currently above 100%, at 101.28%.

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.3750.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SUN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Sunoco to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sunoco from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Sunoco in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Sunoco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th.

Sunoco Price Performance

Sunoco stock opened at $68.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's fifty day moving average is $67.21 and its 200 day moving average is $63.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Sunoco has a 52-week low of $47.98 and a 52-week high of $72.88.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $1.14. Sunoco had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The company had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Sunoco's quarterly revenue was up 106.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sunoco will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.9899 per share. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. This is an increase from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio is currently 101.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunoco

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Sunoco by 6.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 159,128 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $9,239,000 after acquiring an additional 9,592 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Sunoco by 10.9% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,174 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sunoco by 226.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,088 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 4,915 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in Sunoco by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 365,953 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $19,611,000 after purchasing an additional 18,990 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Sunoco by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 37,488 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 2,810 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sunoco

Sunoco LP NYSE: SUN is an independent master limited partnership that specializes in the distribution and marketing of transportation fuels and related products. The company operates through two primary segments: wholesale fuel distribution and retail marketing. In wholesale distribution, Sunoco supplies branded fuels to distributors, commercial customers and resellers across the United States. Its retail marketing arm operates a network of company‐owned and franchised Sunoco branded service stations and convenience stores, providing gasoline, diesel, ethanol blends and lubricants to consumers.

Sunoco's product portfolio extends beyond traditional fuels to include biofuels, specialty chemicals and on‐road diesel treated to meet ultra‐low sulfur requirements.

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