Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Grows Stake in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN - Free Report) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,630 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 15,968 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned 0.07% of Sunoco worth $5,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SUN. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Sunoco by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sunoco by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 10,637 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Sunoco by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 25,251 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,355,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sunoco by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,800 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Sunoco by 2.6% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,627 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. 24.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sunoco Stock Performance

Shares of Sunoco stock traded up $0.22 on Tuesday, reaching $58.28. 40,486 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 472,860. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 1.35. Sunoco LP has a 1-year low of $49.45 and a 1-year high of $60.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.73). Sunoco had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 3.85%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.8865 dividend. This represents a $3.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Sunoco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Sunoco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SUN. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Sunoco from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho lifted 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sunoco from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.50.

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.