Short Interest in Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) Rises By 76.6%

Key Points

• Short interest in Suncor Energy surged 76.6% to 23.4 million shares as of August 14, representing about 2% of shares outstanding and a short-interest ratio of 4.0 days.
• Suncor reported quarterly EPS of $2.33, beating estimates by $0.19, while revenue reached $13.41 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, equivalent to a 3.7% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $80.25 versus a recent share price of $65.50; institutional investors own 67.37% of the stock.

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU - Get Free Report) TSE: SU saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 23,419,730 shares, an increase of 76.6% from the July 30th total of 13,262,277 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,833,816 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SU opened at $65.50 on Monday. Suncor Energy has a 1 year low of $37.76 and a 1 year high of $70.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.29. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $61.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.11.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU - Get Free Report) TSE: SU last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $13.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.68 billion. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Analysts predict that Suncor Energy will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Suncor Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SU shares. Zacks Research cut Suncor Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $106.00 target price on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank upgraded Suncor Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Desjardins raised shares of Suncor Energy to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Suncor Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Suncor Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 121.4% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,085,360 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,724,954,000 after purchasing an additional 14,304,131 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its stake in Suncor Energy by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 21,050,387 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $934,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,516 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Suncor Energy by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,371,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $860,933,000 after purchasing an additional 516,783 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Suncor Energy by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,820,924 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $746,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Suncor Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $816,551,000. 67.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Suncor Energy

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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