Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Price Target to $63.00

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on SUN. StockNews.com downgraded Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup raised shares of Sunoco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays cut their target price on Sunoco from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Sunoco from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.25.

Sunoco Price Performance

Sunoco stock opened at $52.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.26. Sunoco has a 1 year low of $49.00 and a 1 year high of $64.89.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported $3.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $2.62. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.63 billion. Sunoco had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 41.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sunoco will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.8756 dividend. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Sunoco’s payout ratio is currently 77.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SUN. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its position in Sunoco by 26,345.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 1,351,368 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $76,406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,258 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunoco by 176.6% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 700,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,591,000 after buying an additional 447,072 shares during the period. Adams Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sunoco by 82.3% in the second quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 571,538 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,315,000 after acquiring an additional 258,103 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sunoco in the first quarter worth approximately $10,494,000. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in Sunoco by 33.4% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 583,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,981,000 after acquiring an additional 146,152 shares during the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sunoco

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.