Sunoco LP (SUN)

[eFinanceMarkets]

Sunoco upgraded at Barclays, which sees further gains after c-store sale

Sunoco (SUN +3.3%) extends yesterday's 20% surge following its $3.3B sale of 1,110 convenience stores to the Japanese operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain.

The deal is seen as the first step in SUN's strategic move away from company-operated convenience stores to its fuel supply business.

Barclays upgrades shares to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $35 price target, raised from $26, based on the c-store divestiture, which it says opens up visibility for SUN to reach 4.5x-4.75x leverage and 1.1x coverage.

The firm thinks the shares have more room to run and warrants further yield compression vs. 11.5% currently given that SUN is on the path to rehabilitation.