Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,640,000 shares, a growth of 68.2% from the January 15th total of 1,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 499,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Sunoco Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:SUN opened at $56.35 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.36. Sunoco has a 1-year low of $49.45 and a 1-year high of $64.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.42.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.73). Sunoco had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 2.72%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sunoco will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.8865 dividend. This represents a $3.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. This is an increase from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Sunoco’s payout ratio is currently 80.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SUN. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sunoco by 11.7% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 96,377 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,236,000 after buying an additional 10,080 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Sunoco by 26.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,191,570 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $117,644,000 after buying an additional 455,361 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $850,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Sunoco during the 3rd quarter valued at $524,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.