Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $70.00 and last traded at $69.98, with a volume of 396372 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SUN shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sunoco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Sunoco from $63.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sunoco from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Sunoco to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.13.

Sunoco Stock Up 1.5%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19 and a beta of 0.46.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $1.14. Sunoco had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 106.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Sunoco LP will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.9899 per share. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Sunoco’s payout ratio is presently 101.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunoco

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sunoco by 5.3% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 132,058 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,580,000 after buying an additional 6,607 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sunoco in the first quarter worth approximately $397,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Sunoco by 15.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 62,560 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,065,000 after buying an additional 8,211 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Sunoco by 3.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,098,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sunoco in the first quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

About Sunoco

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.