Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $46.15 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Suncor Energy from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Suncor Energy from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SU stock opened at $56.87 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.39. Suncor Energy has a one year low of $30.79 and a one year high of $58.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.89 and its 200 day moving average is $45.47.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.79 billion. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 12.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Suncor Energy will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Suncor Energy’s payout ratio is 50.72%.

Institutional Trading of Suncor Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SU. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position 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 valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 3.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL grew its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 22,741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 28,748 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. 67.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Suncor Energy Company Profile

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.