Sunoco (NYSE:SUN – Get Rating) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.
A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SUN. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Sunoco in a research note on Thursday, December 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 7th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sunoco from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $47.00 in a report on Friday, December 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunoco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.43.
Sunoco Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE SUN traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.44. The company had a trading volume of 206,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,284. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.92. Sunoco has a 12 month low of $34.26 and a 12 month high of $46.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 1.37.
Sunoco (NYSE:SUN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 56.02% and a net margin of 2.10%. As a group, analysts predict that Sunoco will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Trading of Sunoco
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SUN. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 8.9% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,939 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 70.2% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 23,016 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,491 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 7.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 5,369 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sunoco by 5.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 25,640 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 1.7% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 15,519 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.16% 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 in two segments, Fuel Distribution and Marketing, and All Other. The Fuel Distribution and Marketing segment purchases motor fuel from independent refiners and oil companies and supplies it to independently operated dealer stations, distributors and other consumer of motor fuel, and partnership operated stations, as well as to commission agent locations.