Traders Buy High Volume of Suncor Energy Put Options (NYSE:SU)

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 28,315 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 2,998% compared to the typical daily volume of 914 put options.

Suncor Energy Price Performance

Shares of Suncor Energy stock opened at $68.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.39. Suncor Energy has a 52-week low of $33.50 and a 52-week high of $68.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.02 and a 200-day moving average of $51.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.32.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.79 billion. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 12.51%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Suncor Energy will post 5.72 EPS for the current year.

Suncor Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SU shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Suncor Energy from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Suncor Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $46.15 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Suncor Energy from $75.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Suncor Energy by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,530,965 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $649,350,000 after acquiring an additional 7,158,953 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Suncor Energy by 7,636.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,016,483 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $267,042,000 after purchasing an additional 5,938,719 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 62.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 13,335,239 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $557,682,000 after purchasing an additional 5,113,280 shares during the period. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 21,050,387 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $934,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,516 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 5,468.8% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,289,219 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $101,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,248,111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Suncor Energy Company Profile

Suncor Energy Inc is a Canadian integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company’s operations span the full oil and gas value chain, with principal activities in oil sands development and production, conventional exploration and production, refining, distribution and retail marketing of petroleum products. Suncor supplies crude, synthetic crude and refined fuels as well as related products and services to commercial and consumer markets.

Upstream, Suncor is a major developer and operator of oil sands projects in Alberta, using both mining and in situ technologies to produce bitumen and synthetic crude.