Advisors Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) by 7.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 44,705 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,543 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sunoco were worth $2,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunoco in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Sunoco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Sunoco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunoco in the second quarter worth $93,000. Finally, Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sunoco during the second quarter worth $207,000. 24.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sunoco Price Performance

SUN stock opened at $54.33 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.55. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 1.31. Sunoco LP has a fifty-two week low of $49.45 and a fifty-two week high of $64.89.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.26) earnings per share 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sunoco LP will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.8756 per share. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Sunoco’s payout ratio is 80.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.