Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Sunoco's stock rating has been upgraded from a "strong sell" to a "hold" by Zacks Research, indicating a shift in analysts' sentiment towards the company.
• JPMorgan Chase raised its price target for Sunoco to $67.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating, suggesting positive expectations for the stock's performance.
• Sunoco reported earnings of $0.33 per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates and highlighting a 12.7% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SUN has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sunoco from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sunoco in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Sunoco from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunoco currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.50.

Sunoco Price Performance

SUN stock opened at $50.72 on Monday. Sunoco has a 1 year low of $47.98 and a 1 year high of $59.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $51.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.65. The firm has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SUN. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunoco by 2.2% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,590 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunoco by 3.9% during the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunoco by 1.9% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 11,252 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Sunoco by 2.1% in the second quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,302 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Sunoco by 5.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,262 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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