Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU)

Key Points

• Suncor Energy experienced a 2,998% increase in put options trading, with 28,315 put options bought on Wednesday, indicating significant trader interest or concern.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4135, a slight increase from the previous dividend, and sets the yield at 3.9%.
• Institutional investors control 67.37% of Suncor Energy’s stock, reflecting strong confidence by large financial entities in the company's future.

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU - Get Free Report) TSE: SU saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 28,315 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,998% compared to the typical volume of 914 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Suncor Energy by 3.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,631,516 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,046,442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,632,247 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Suncor Energy by 38.5% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 33,722,975 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,264,043,000 after buying an additional 9,378,552 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Suncor Energy by 3.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,911,602 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $779,788,000 after buying an additional 641,354 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Suncor Energy by 65.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,018,129 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $620,136,000 after buying an additional 6,311,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 18.6% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,377,546 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $595,398,000 after acquiring an additional 2,410,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.37% of the company's stock.

Suncor Energy Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:SU traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $42.71. 4,545,521 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,276,227. Suncor Energy has a one year low of $30.79 and a one year high of $43.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.66. The company has a market cap of $51.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.87.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU - Get Free Report) TSE: SU last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Suncor Energy will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.4135 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is an increase from Suncor Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Suncor Energy's payout ratio is presently 50.77%.

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.