HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Suncor Energy were worth $1,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SU. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 1,324.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,469,008 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $123,774,000 after acquiring an additional 3,225,543 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Suncor Energy by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,706,616 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $346,298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,767,043 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 97.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734,572 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $133,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,791 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Suncor Energy by 104.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,083,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $110,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Suncor Energy in the third quarter valued at about $23,286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SU shares. StockNews.com upgraded Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Bank of America assumed coverage on Suncor Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Suncor Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Suncor Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.00.

Suncor Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE SU opened at $38.44 on Wednesday. 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 price of $38.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.14. Suncor Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.81 and a 52 week high of $41.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.11.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 15.37%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.399 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.51%.

Suncor Energy Company Profile

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.