Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $72.90 and last traded at $72.8190, with a volume of 52936 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $70.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SUN shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sunoco from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Sunoco from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Sunoco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on Sunoco from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sunoco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.75.

Sunoco Stock Up 2.7%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

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

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.9899 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.28%.

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sunoco during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sunoco by 496.5% in the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sunoco in the 1st quarter valued at about $78,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in Sunoco in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sunoco by 110.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently 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.