Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU)

Key Points

• Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Suncor Energy Inc. by 4.3%, holding approximately $80.8 million in shares, which represents about 1.7% of their portfolio.
• Numerous institutional investors, including Principal Financial Group Inc. and Mackenzie Financial Corp., significantly increased their stakes in Suncor Energy during the first quarter.
• Suncor Energy recently announced a dividend increase to $0.4133 per share, marking an annualized payout of $1.65 and a yield of 4.13%.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU - Free Report) TSE: SU by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,087,905 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 93,190 shares during the period. Suncor Energy accounts for 1.7% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Suncor Energy worth $80,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Suncor Energy by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 111,222 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,968,000 after buying an additional 45,340 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 250.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,811 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 14,163 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 120.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 228,696 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $8,160,000 after purchasing an additional 124,935 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC bought a new position in Suncor Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $1,979,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Suncor Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $197,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Suncor Energy Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:SU traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,013,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,161,398. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.39. Suncor Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.79 and a 1 year high of $41.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU - Get Free Report) TSE: SU last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.95% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The company had revenue of $9.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Research analysts expect that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a $0.4133 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. This is a positive change from Suncor Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Suncor Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.84%.

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.