Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $78.35 and last traded at $78.5230, with a volume of 16734 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SUN shares. Barclays raised their target price on Sunoco from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sunoco in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sunoco from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho set a $83.00 price objective on Sunoco in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sunoco from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.00.

Sunoco Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.41.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($1.56). Sunoco had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 2.88%.The firm had revenue of $14.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 164.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sunoco LP will post 9.57 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $1.0023 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. This represents a $4.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is 88.72%.

Institutional Trading of Sunoco

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SUN. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Sunoco by 2.8% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 3.0% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sunoco by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,720 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Sunoco by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 5,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Sunoco by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 450 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 a publicly traded master limited partnership focused on the distribution, transportation and storage of motor fuels and other petroleum products. The company supplies gasoline, diesel and other fuels to independent dealers, commercial customers, distributors and retail operators, supporting fuel sales under the Sunoco brand and other brands.

Sunoco operates a broad logistics network that includes fuel terminals, pipelines, storage facilities, marine assets and other transportation infrastructure.