Empowered Funds LLC Lowers Holdings in Suncor Energy Inc. $SU

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC reduced its Suncor Energy stake by 22.3% in the first quarter, selling 19,281 shares and retaining 67,037 shares valued at approximately $4.43 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.37% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with Suncor carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $71.67, despite Goldman Sachs downgrading the stock to “Neutral.”
• Suncor shares opened at $67.22, near their 52-week high, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.41—slightly below estimates—and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60, equivalent to a 3.6% annual yield.

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in shares of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU - Free Report) TSE: SU by 22.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,037 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 19,281 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Suncor Energy were worth $4,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Suncor Energy by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 635 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Suncor Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Suncor Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Accent Capital Management LLC increased its position in Suncor Energy by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 825 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new stake in shares of Suncor Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SU has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Suncor Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Suncor Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Suncor Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Suncor Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Desjardins raised Suncor Energy to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $71.67.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

SU stock opened at $67.22 on Monday. Suncor Energy Inc. has a one year low of $37.76 and a one year high of $70.29. The firm has a market cap of $79.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.17.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU - Get Free Report) TSE: SU last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $10.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. Suncor Energy had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 12.29%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. Suncor Energy's payout ratio is currently 45.67%.

Suncor Energy 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.

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