Sunoco Logistics Partners Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Sunoco Logistics Partners (NYS: SXL) reported earnings on May 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Sunoco Logistics Partners crushed expectations on revenues and earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue improved significantly and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
Sunoco Logistics Partners reported revenue of $3.41 billion. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $2.35 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 51% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.26 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.77. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.63 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.77 for Q1 were 114% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.36 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 5.5%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.0%, 80 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.8%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.53 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.62.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $10.76 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.55.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 164 members out of 174 rating the stock outperform, and 10 members rating it underperform. Among 42 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 40 give Sunoco Logistics Partners a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Sunoco Logistics Partners is hold, with an average price target of $37.55.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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