Zacks Research Downgrades Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) to Strong Sell

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays set a $63.00 price objective on Sunoco in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Sunoco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.17.

Sunoco Stock Performance

NYSE SUN traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $64.40. The company had a trading volume of 660,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 470,381. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.95 and a 200-day moving average of $54.21. The company has a market cap of $13.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37 and a beta of 0.49. Sunoco has a 1-year low of $47.98 and a 1-year high of $64.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($1.55). The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.65 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 2.01%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sunoco will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunoco

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SUN. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sunoco in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sunoco in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sunoco by 496.5% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Sunoco by 95.9% during 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sunoco Company Profile

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.