Franklin Resources Inc. Has $186.59 Million Stake in Suncor Energy Inc. $SU

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,979,309 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 685,672 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.41% of Suncor Energy worth $186,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 12,290.9% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 12,418,784 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $480,760,000 after buying an additional 12,318,559 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in Suncor Energy by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 33,722,975 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,264,043,000 after acquiring an additional 9,378,552 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Suncor Energy by 83.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,426,008 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $481,135,000 after acquiring an additional 5,658,880 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Suncor Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $126,048,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,377,546 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $595,398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,410,857 shares during the period. 67.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SU has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Friday, October 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suncor Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

Suncor Energy Price Performance

Shares of Suncor Energy stock opened at $44.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.75. Suncor Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.79 and a 1-year high of $45.60.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $9.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 13.21%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This is an increase from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Suncor Energy’s payout ratio is 55.74%.

About Suncor Energy

Suncor Energy Inc operates as an integrated energy company in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through Oil Sands; Exploration and Production; and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment explores, develops, and produces bitumen, synthetic crude oil, and related products.