Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Suncor Energy Put Options (NYSE:SU)

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Suncor Energy from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Securities raised Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Suncor Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 2,358.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,209 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 16,509 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Suncor Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,940,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Suncor Energy by 90.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,299,876 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $316,226,000 after purchasing an additional 3,951,287 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,529,253 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $683,916,000 after buying an additional 1,031,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 56.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 55,636 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 20,101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Suncor Energy Price Performance

Shares of SU opened at $37.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.46. Suncor Energy has a fifty-two week low of $29.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.73. The company has a market capitalization of $48.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.12.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.30 billion. Suncor Energy had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Suncor Energy will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Suncor Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a $0.395 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.86%.

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.