Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Sunoco from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Sunoco in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. They set an overweight rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upgraded Sunoco from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on Sunoco from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised Sunoco from a neutral rating to a buy rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $61.86.

Sunoco Price Performance

NYSE:SUN opened at $50.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.94. Sunoco has a 1 year low of $43.85 and a 1 year high of $64.89.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $2.62. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.63 billion. Sunoco had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 35.56%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Sunoco will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.8756 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.90%. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Joseph Kim bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $50.50 per share, with a total value of $252,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sunoco news, CEO Joseph Kim bought 5,000 shares of Sunoco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.50 per share, with a total value of $252,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian A. Hand purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.59 per share, with a total value of $99,180.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 153,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,599,915.45. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 8,000 shares of company stock worth $401,420.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sunoco by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,583 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Sunoco during the fourth quarter worth about $905,000. Fractal Investments LLC boosted its position in Sunoco by 1,110.0% in the fourth quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 242,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,503,000 after buying an additional 222,000 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sunoco by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,904,735 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $174,081,000 after buying an additional 275,875 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its position in Sunoco by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 437,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,357,000 after buying an additional 17,757 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Sunoco Company Profile

Sunoco LP, together with its subsidiaries, distributes and retails motor fuels in the United States. It operates through two segments: Fuel Distribution and Marketing, and All Other. The Fuel Distribution and Marketing segment purchases motor fuel, as well as other petroleum products, such as propane and lubricating oil from independent refiners and oil companies and supplies it to company-operated retail stores, independently operated commission agents, and retail stores, as well as other commercial customers, including unbranded retail stores, other fuel distributors, school districts, municipalities, and other industrial customers.