Why HF Sinclair Stock Topped the Market on Tuesday

Energy company HF Sinclair's (NYSE: DINO) stock garnered enough energy on the market Tuesday to notch a slight beat on the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). That mirrored an analyst's slight price target increase, which was good enough to help lift HF Sinclair's stock 0.1% higher. The index, meanwhile, ended the day 1.2% lower.

Price target hike

That price target bump came before the market open on Tuesday. The person behind it was UBS prognosticator Manav Gupta, who now believes HF Sinclair is worth $65 per share, up from $63. Gupta maintained his buy recommendation on the stock.

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The reasoning behind the analyst's move weren't immediately apparent. It came less than a week after HF Sinclair posted its third-quarter results, and the company's overperformance very well might have influenced the price target change.

For the period, the company posted a 1% year-over-year increase in revenue to $7.25 billion. Growth was far stronger on the bottom line, as net income not according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) more than quadrupled, landing at $459 million ($2.44 per share) from the year-ago quarter's $98 million.

An outperformer in the quarter

With that, HF Sinclair absolutely crushed the average analyst estimate of $1.82 for non-GAAP (adjusted) net income, and easily beat that for revenue ($6.9 billion).

In the earnings release, the company quoted CEO Tim Go as saying that the fundamental gains were due to "measurable improvement in operating and commercial performance, including the continued increases in refining throughput, capture, and reductions in operating costs."

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.