River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 57,838 Shares of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU)

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU - Free Report) TSE: SU by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 743,033 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 57,838 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Suncor Energy worth $23,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SU. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Suncor Energy by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,379,614 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,732,051,000 after acquiring an additional 731,163 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Suncor Energy by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,658,847 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $709,835,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356,470 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Suncor Energy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 20,348,705 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $699,750,000 after acquiring an additional 377,500 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Suncor Energy by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 19,194,858 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $663,794,000 after acquiring an additional 762,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Suncor Energy by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 18,430,549 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $618,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.37% of the company's stock.

Suncor Energy Price Performance

Shares of SU traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $38.05. The stock had a trading volume of 4,704,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,353,023. Suncor Energy Inc. 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 current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $35.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.61. The company has a market capitalization of $48.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.13.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU - Get Free Report) TSE: SU last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 16.08% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.406 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. This is a boost from Suncor Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Suncor Energy's payout ratio is presently 34.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Suncor Energy from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised Suncor Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Suncor Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.00.

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.