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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Suncor Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.20.

Institutional Trading of Suncor Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SU. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 65.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,018,129 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $620,136,000 after purchasing an additional 6,311,513 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 1,324.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,469,008 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $123,774,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225,543 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 2,061.8% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,438,291 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,990,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,503 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 500.4% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 2,453,314 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,459,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044,680 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 97.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734,572 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $133,250,000 after buying an additional 1,842,791 shares during the period. 67.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Suncor Energy Price Performance

NYSE SU opened at $35.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.58. Suncor Energy has a 12 month low of $30.79 and a 12 month high of $41.95.

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

Suncor Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.399 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.51%.

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.