Sunoco (TXSE:SUN) Stock: Insider David Skidmore Acquires 1,500 Shares

Sunoco LP (TXSE:SUN) Director David Skidmore bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $61.53 per share, with a total value of $92,295.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,624.44. This represents a 7.79% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Sunoco Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of SUN stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $63.21. 481,369 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 493,707. Sunoco LP has a 12-month low of $49.98 and a 12-month high of $80.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market cap of $12.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.65.

Sunoco (TXSE:SUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.46 by ($0.39). Sunoco had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company had revenue of $18.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Sunoco LP will post 10.60 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a $1.0148 dividend. This is a positive change from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.0023. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Sunoco’s payout ratio is presently 68.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunoco

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Sunoco by 172.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 9,575 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 6,061 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Sunoco in the 3rd quarter worth about $119,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sunoco by 10.4% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 11,369 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,071 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in Sunoco during the 3rd quarter worth about $63,000. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Sunoco in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sunoco in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Sunoco in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Sunoco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.12.

About Sunoco

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) is a master limited partnership focused primarily on the distribution and wholesale marketing of motor fuels. The company supplies gasoline, diesel and other refined products to independent fuel retailers, commercial customers, distributors and other end users, including customers operating under the Sunoco brand. Sunoco’s operations include fuel terminals, pipelines, transportation assets and other logistics infrastructure used to receive, store, blend and deliver petroleum products.