Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $59.14 and last traded at $59.2030, with a volume of 607193 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Suncor Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $46.15 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suncor Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Suncor Energy from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Suncor Energy from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

Suncor Energy Trading Up 1.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.81. The stock has a market cap of $70.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 0.43.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. Suncor Energy had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 11.99%.The business had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Suncor Energy by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 33,722,975 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,264,043,000 after purchasing an additional 9,378,552 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 85.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,530,965 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $649,350,000 after buying an additional 7,158,953 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Suncor Energy by 7,636.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,016,483 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $267,042,000 after buying an additional 5,938,719 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Suncor Energy by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 13,335,239 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $557,682,000 after acquiring an additional 5,113,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in Suncor Energy by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 21,050,387 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $934,312,000 after acquiring an additional 2,592,516 shares during the period. 67.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.