Suncor Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:SU)

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 28,315 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 2,998% compared to the average daily volume of 914 put options.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Suncor Energy stock opened at $37.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.13. Suncor Energy has a 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $39.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.61.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 16.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Suncor Energy will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.406 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This is a positive change from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SU. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Suncor Energy from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Suncor Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 57,318,037 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,836,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,629 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,534,957 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,619,140,000 after purchasing an additional 155,343 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 32,070,496 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,032,453,000 after purchasing an additional 4,612,764 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 22,384,816 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $717,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725,969 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 20,530,994 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $657,772,000 after purchasing an additional 182,289 shares during the period. 67.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.