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

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 28,315 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,998% compared to the average daily volume of 914 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on SU shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Suncor Energy in a research note on Friday, October 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Suncor Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Guardian Capital LP grew its stake in Suncor Energy by 0.4% during the third quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 1,867,860 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $78,183,000 after acquiring an additional 7,313 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,975,602 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $500,712,000 after purchasing an additional 259,684 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 314.8% during the third quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 627,313 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,246,000 after purchasing an additional 476,077 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 2.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 91,147 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sprott Inc. lifted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 33.4% in the third quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 18,779 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Suncor Energy Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Suncor Energy stock opened at $44.20 on Thursday. Suncor Energy has a 1 year low of $30.79 and a 1 year high of $44.51. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $40.98 and a 200 day moving average of $39.12. The firm has a market cap of $53.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.75.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.22. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The business had revenue of $9.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Suncor Energy will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.74%.

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.