Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) Short Interest Update

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU - Get Free Report) TSE: SU saw a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,530,000 shares, a decline of 49.2% from the March 15th total of 38,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SU. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Suncor Energy during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Suncor Energy during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Suncor Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Suncor Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in Suncor Energy by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. 67.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Suncor Energy Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of Suncor Energy stock traded down $0.95 on Thursday, reaching $38.36. The company had a trading volume of 4,534,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,323,990. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $35.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.53. The firm has a market cap of $49.41 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.13. Suncor Energy has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $39.32. 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 (NYSE:SU - Get Free Report) TSE: SU last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Suncor Energy will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.406 per share. This is an increase from Suncor Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Suncor Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Suncor Energy from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.00.

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.