Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Sets New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• Sunoco's share price hit a new 52-week low at $47.98, down from a previous close of $49.12, with a trading volume of 422,537 shares.
• Despite the decline in earnings for the quarter, Sunoco recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.9088 per share, representing an annual yield of 7.5%.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Buy" on Sunoco, with an average price target of $64.50, despite Mizuho lowering their target from $67.00 to $66.00.

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $47.98 and last traded at $48.38, with a volume of 422537 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SUN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sunoco from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Sunoco has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.50.

Sunoco Trading Up 0.9%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $52.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10 and a beta of 0.58.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.68 by ($1.35). Sunoco had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 2.02%.The company had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.85 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.9088 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Sunoco's payout ratio is 179.31%.

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sunoco by 41.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Sunoco by 95.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,379 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco in the 4th quarter worth $102,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Sunoco by 110.1% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,040 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.