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

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 28,315 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,998% compared to the average volume of 914 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Suncor Energy from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $56.50.

Institutional Trading of Suncor Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Suncor Energy by 65.8% during the second quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 103,082 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,854,000 after acquiring an additional 40,892 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 796,967 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,859,000 after purchasing an additional 10,514 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 117,779 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,924,000 after purchasing an additional 46,342 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 315,278 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,818,000 after purchasing an additional 42,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in Suncor Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,653,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Suncor Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Suncor Energy stock opened at $45.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.72 and a 200 day moving average of $41.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.46. Suncor Energy has a 12-month low of $30.79 and a 12-month high of $46.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $9.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 13.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Suncor Energy will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.39%.

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.