Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $59.88 and last traded at $59.2150, with a volume of 46270 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Sunoco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $60.00 target price on shares of Sunoco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sunoco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sunoco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Sunoco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sunoco presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.60.

Sunoco Trading Up 0.7%

The stock has a market cap of $12.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.26.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.9317 per share. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $3.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 127.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunoco

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Sunoco during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sunoco during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in Sunoco during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 41.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sunoco Company Profile

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.