ING Groep NV Grows Position in Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN)

ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) by 223.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 513,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 355,000 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Sunoco were worth $26,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SUN. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in Sunoco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Sunoco by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Sunoco by 90.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,723 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Sunoco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Sunoco by 6,891.7% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,481 shares during the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on SUN shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Sunoco from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Sunoco from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.83.

Sunoco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SUN opened at $58.03 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.56. Sunoco LP has a 1-year low of $49.45 and a 1-year high of $64.89. The company has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 1.36.

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) last released its 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 net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 22.52%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sunoco LP will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Sunoco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.8865 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.11%. This is a boost from Sunoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Sunoco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.79%.

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.