Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $64.27 and last traded at $63.96, with a volume of 61189 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $63.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SUN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sunoco from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Sunoco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Sunoco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.17.

Sunoco Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96 and a beta of 0.49.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($1.55). Sunoco had a net margin of 2.01% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 63.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.9317 per share. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 164.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunoco

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SUN. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sunoco by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,720 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sunoco by 5.2% in the third quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,249 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sunoco by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Sunoco by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 9,036 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Sunoco by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 39,088 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.