Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The oil and gas company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.48), Zacks reports. 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Sunoco Price Performance

Shares of Sunoco stock traded down $1.23 on Tuesday, hitting $53.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 745,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,895. The company has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 0.67. Sunoco has a 1 year low of $48.00 and a 1 year high of $59.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.04.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.8976 per share. This is a positive change from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SUN shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Sunoco from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Mizuho increased their price target on 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. lifted their price objective on Sunoco from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.