Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Position in Suncor Energy Inc. $SU

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) by 96.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 38,274 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,052,640 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Suncor Energy were worth $1,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,208 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in Suncor Energy by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 57,323 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after buying an additional 13,700 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Suncor Energy by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,485 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Suncor Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $609,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Suncor Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 38,037 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after buying an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. 67.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Suncor Energy Price Performance

Shares of SU opened at $65.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Suncor Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.79 and a 1-year high of $67.76. The stock has a market cap of $78.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.86.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. Suncor Energy had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.99%.The company had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Suncor Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on SU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Suncor Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $46.15 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Suncor Energy from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Suncor Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.67.

About Suncor Energy

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.