Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) saw a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 12,451,828 shares, an increase of 71.1% from the April 30th total of 7,276,893 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,569,110 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Suncor Energy by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 635 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Suncor Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Suncor Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Suncor Energy by 95.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 793 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 825 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SU traded up $0.70 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.01. 619,122 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,751,353. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.26 and a 200-day moving average of $55.26. Suncor Energy has a 12-month low of $35.93 and a 12-month high of $70.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.27.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by ($0.04). Suncor Energy had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Suncor Energy will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Suncor Energy from $75.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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 raised Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

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.