Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. reduced its position in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,555 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Sunoco were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SUN. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. boosted its stake in Sunoco by 26,345.6% during the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 1,351,368 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $76,406,000 after buying an additional 1,346,258 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 5,437.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 572,779 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,747,000 after buying an additional 562,435 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 176.6% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 700,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,591,000 after buying an additional 447,072 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Sunoco during the third quarter worth about $8,520,000. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its stake in Sunoco by 33.4% during the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 583,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,981,000 after buying an additional 146,152 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sunoco Stock Performance

NYSE:SUN opened at $54.79 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $53.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.60. Sunoco LP has a 1-year low of $49.45 and a 1-year high of $64.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 1.33.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($1.79). The company had revenue of $5.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.09 billion. Sunoco had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 2.72%. Sunoco’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sunoco LP will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.8756 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.39%. Sunoco’s payout ratio is currently 80.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on SUN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Sunoco from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sunoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Sunoco from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunoco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.25.

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.