Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Sunoco LP $SUN

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its holdings in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) by 51.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,709 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 27,515 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Sunoco were worth $1,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SUN. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sunoco in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sunoco by 496.5% during the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco in the 1st quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 110.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Sunoco from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sunoco in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sunoco from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Sunoco from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.00.

Sunoco Stock Performance

Shares of SUN stock opened at $75.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. Sunoco LP has a 12-month low of $47.98 and a 12-month high of $78.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.31. The company has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79 and a beta of 0.41.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($1.56). The business had revenue of $14.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.05 billion. Sunoco had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 18.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 164.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sunoco LP will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $1.0023 per share. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. This represents a $4.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.72%.

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.