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

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SUN. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Sunoco and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Sunoco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sunoco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays set a $60.00 price objective on Sunoco and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Sunoco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.60.

Sunoco Trading Up 1.0%

Sunoco stock opened at $59.50 on Friday. Sunoco has a 12 month low of $47.98 and a 12 month high of $60.62. The company has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.37. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.9317 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $3.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 127.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunoco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Sunoco during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sunoco in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sunoco during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sunoco by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Sunoco by 95.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,379 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. 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.