Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU)

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 2.8% during the 4th 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $1,619,140,000 after purchasing an additional 155,343 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake 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 valued at $1,032,453,000 after purchasing an additional 4,612,764 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake 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 valued at $717,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725,969 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake 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 valued at $657,772,000 after purchasing an additional 182,289 shares during the period. 67.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on SU shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Suncor Energy from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Suncor Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Suncor Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Suncor Energy stock opened at $38.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.44. Suncor Energy has a one year low of $27.59 and a one year high of $39.32. The company has a market cap of $48.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.64.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Suncor Energy will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.406 per share. This is a boost from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.26%.

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.