HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 1,697 Shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,697 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sunoco were worth $1,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SUN. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Sunoco by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Sunoco by 93.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Sunoco by 112.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,446 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sunoco from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Sunoco from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Sunoco from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.67.

Sunoco Stock Performance

NYSE SUN opened at $57.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.37. Sunoco LP has a 12-month low of $49.45 and a 12-month high of $61.20. The company has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.73). Sunoco had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 22.52%. Analysts anticipate that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.8865 per share. This is a positive change from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio is 53.64%.

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.