Short Interest in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Increases By 67.5%

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,730,000 shares, an increase of 67.5% from the April 30th total of 1,630,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 401,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sunoco from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sunoco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunoco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SUN. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Sunoco in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Sunoco by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sunoco by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Sunoco in the 4th quarter valued at $90,000. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company's stock.

Sunoco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SUN traded down $0.25 on Monday, hitting $53.69. 295,434 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 463,775. The company's 50 day moving average price is $56.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.67. 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 has a one year low of $48.00 and a one year high of $59.88.

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

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.8976 dividend. This is a boost from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.68%.

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.