Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on SUN. Mizuho set a $83.00 target price on shares of Sunoco in a report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Sunoco to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on Sunoco from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sunoco from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Sunoco in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $79.00.

Sunoco Stock Performance

NYSE:SUN opened at $70.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Sunoco has a fifty-two week low of $47.98 and a fifty-two week high of $78.11. The stock has a market cap of $14.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.89.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($1.56). The company had revenue of $14.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.05 billion. Sunoco had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 164.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. Analysts expect that Sunoco will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $1.0023 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $4.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. Sunoco’s payout ratio is presently 87.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunoco

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SUN. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sunoco during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in Sunoco in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sunoco in the 1st quarter valued at about $78,000. 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.