Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 344,839 Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 344,839 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,739,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sunoco by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 96,377 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,236,000 after buying an additional 10,080 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Sunoco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $256,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Sunoco by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,191,570 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $117,644,000 after purchasing an additional 455,361 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Sunoco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $524,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sunoco by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 27,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Sunoco Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:SUN opened at $58.81 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Sunoco LP has a 12 month low of $49.45 and a 12 month high of $62.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.8865 dividend. This represents a $3.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.