Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Stock Rated “Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.75.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Sunoco in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sunoco in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on Sunoco from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Sunoco in a report on Thursday, October 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunoco

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Sunoco in the third quarter valued at $58,000. Kercheville Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 0.6% during the third quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 160,087 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 59.9% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Sunoco during the third quarter worth about $8,993,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in shares of Sunoco by 198.2% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 978 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Sunoco Price Performance

Shares of SUN opened at $72.99 on Friday. Sunoco has a 52-week low of $49.98 and a 52-week high of $80.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.99.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($1.56). Sunoco had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The company had revenue of $14.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 164.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sunoco will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a $1.0148 dividend. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.0023. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.72%.

Sunoco Company Profile

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) is a master limited partnership focused primarily on the distribution and wholesale marketing of motor fuels. The company supplies gasoline, diesel and other refined products to independent fuel retailers, commercial customers, distributors and other end users, including customers operating under the Sunoco brand.

Sunoco’s operations include fuel terminals, pipelines, transportation assets and other logistics infrastructure used to receive, store, blend and deliver petroleum products.