Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Suncor Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Suncor Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Desjardins upgraded Suncor Energy to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Suncor Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.67.

Suncor Energy Trading Down 2.4%

SU stock opened at $62.91 on Tuesday. Suncor Energy has a 52 week low of $37.76 and a 52 week high of $70.29. The company has a market capitalization of $74.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $10.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Suncor Energy had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 15.62%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Suncor Energy will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,278 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Suncor Energy by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,047 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Suncor Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 6,149 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Suncor Energy by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 67.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Suncor Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Suncor Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings beat expectations: Suncor reported second-quarter earnings of C$2.33 per share, above the C$2.14 consensus estimate and well ahead of C$0.71 a year earlier. Revenue reached C$13.41 billion versus the C$11.68 billion estimate, while net profit was reported at approximately C$3.7 billion. Higher crude-price realizations and stronger refining margins drove the improvement. Suncor beats quarterly profit estimates on higher crude realizations, refining margins
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained: Suncor declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.60 per share, payable September 25 to shareholders of record September 4. The annualized payout represents a yield of roughly 3.8%, supporting the stock’s income appeal. Suncor Energy declares dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Policy backdrop is favorable: Federal and Alberta governments are pursuing reforms intended to support Canadian oil-industry growth. However, the immediate financial benefit remains uncertain. Suncor not ready to speed output growth
• Negative Sentiment: Management is resisting faster production growth: CEO Rich Kruger said Suncor is not yet prepared to accelerate planned output increases despite the pro-oil policy environment. This limits near-term volume upside and may disappoint investors seeking faster growth from the company’s oil-sands assets. Suncor not ready to speed output growth

About Suncor Energy

Suncor Energy Inc is a Canadian integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company’s operations span the full oil and gas value chain, with principal activities in oil sands development and production, conventional exploration and production, refining, distribution and retail marketing of petroleum products. Suncor supplies crude, synthetic crude and refined fuels as well as related products and services to commercial and consumer markets.

Upstream, Suncor is a major developer and operator of oil sands projects in Alberta, using both mining and in situ technologies to produce bitumen and synthetic crude.