Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Suncor Energy Put Options (NYSE:SU)

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU - Get Free Report) TSE: SU was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 28,315 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,998% compared to the average daily volume of 914 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Suncor Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Suncor Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.15 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets raised shares of Suncor Energy from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Suncor Energy from $75.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Suncor Energy from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $72.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Suncor Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Suncor Energy by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,278 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Suncor Energy by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,047 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Suncor Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 6,149 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Suncor Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.37% of the company's stock.

Suncor Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SU opened at $67.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $79.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $61.79 and a 200 day moving average of $51.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.39. Suncor Energy has a one year low of $33.50 and a one year high of $67.76.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU - Get Free Report) TSE: SU last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.79 billion. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 12.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Suncor Energy will post 5.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 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 Wednesday, March 4th. Suncor Energy's payout ratio is presently 50.43%.

Suncor Energy Company 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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