Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Position in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Sunoco were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SUN. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sunoco by 1.5% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 31,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Sunoco by 10.3% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 13,624 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in Sunoco during the third quarter worth about $245,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Sunoco by 18.4% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Sunoco during the third quarter worth about $268,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Sunoco Price Performance

SUN stock opened at $56.94 on Friday. 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 one year low of $49.45 and a one year high of $62.55. The stock has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.28.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 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%. On average, analysts predict that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders 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 6.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Sunoco’s payout ratio is currently 53.64%.

Sunoco 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.