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

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 28,315 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 2,998% compared to the typical volume of 914 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SU shares. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Suncor Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SU stock opened at $37.48 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $46.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.11. Suncor Energy has a 52 week low of $33.81 and a 52 week high of $41.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.27 and a 200-day moving average of $38.17.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 15.37%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Suncor Energy will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Suncor Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.399 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.51%.

Institutional Trading of Suncor Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SU. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 82,204 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,035,000 after purchasing an additional 20,081 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 86.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 67,848 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,421,000 after purchasing an additional 31,366 shares in the last quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of Suncor Energy in the 4th quarter worth $300,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 1,345.8% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 468,415 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $17,309,000 after purchasing an additional 436,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Suncor Energy in the 4th quarter worth $236,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

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.