River Road Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU)

River Road Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 666,124 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 77,297 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Suncor Energy worth $23,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 18,546,207 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $684,726,000 after acquiring an additional 333,440 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 1.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,942,455 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $516,728,000 after buying an additional 180,533 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,706,616 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $346,298,000 after buying an additional 2,767,043 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 23.3% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 9,695,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $357,827,000 after buying an additional 1,829,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Suncor Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,891,596 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $220,955,000 after acquiring an additional 413,797 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Suncor Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of SU stock opened at $35.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $44.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.37. Suncor Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.81 and a 1-year high of $41.95.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 15.37%. On average, analysts predict that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Suncor Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.399 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Suncor Energy’s payout ratio is 45.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SU. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Suncor Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Desjardins upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Suncor Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.00.

Suncor Energy Company Profile

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.