Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $70.00 and last traded at $69.98, with a volume of 396372 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $69.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SUN. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sunoco from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Sunoco in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Sunoco from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Sunoco from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.88.

Sunoco Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.05. The stock has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.9899 per share. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.28%.

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sunoco by 3.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the first quarter valued at about $78,000. Legacy Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sunoco during the first quarter worth about $213,000. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sunoco during the first quarter valued at about $1,746,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sunoco by 7,000.0% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 56,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,690,000 after acquiring an additional 56,000 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is currently 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.