Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) Stock

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) had its price objective hoisted by Mizuho from $61.00 to $66.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

SUN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sunoco from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Sunoco from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.43.

Sunoco Trading Up 0.3 %

SUN opened at $59.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.38. Sunoco has a one year low of $49.45 and a one year high of $64.89.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($1.79). Sunoco had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 2.72%. The firm had revenue of $5.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sunoco will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.8865 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.98%. This is a positive change from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunoco

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in Sunoco during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sunoco by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Sunoco by 90.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,723 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,446 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 1,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Sunoco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.