Suncor Energy Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:SU)

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 28,315 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,998% compared to the average volume of 914 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $46.15 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Suncor Energy from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

Institutional Trading of Suncor Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,854,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $789,213,000 after purchasing an additional 106,765 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in Suncor Energy by 35.0% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 101,192 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,240,000 after purchasing an additional 26,252 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Suncor Energy by 314.8% during the third quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 627,313 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,246,000 after buying an additional 476,077 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,695,160 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $75,236,000 after buying an additional 451,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 896,556 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $37,519,000 after buying an additional 18,231 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Suncor Energy Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Suncor Energy stock opened at $66.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.42. Suncor Energy has a 52-week low of $34.67 and a 52-week high of $70.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.92.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($0.04). Suncor Energy had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 12.29%.The firm had revenue of $10.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Suncor Energy will post 6.34 EPS for the current year.

Suncor Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.19%.

About Suncor Energy

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.