Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.11 and last traded at $46.1370, with a volume of 3638455 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Suncor Energy in a research note on Friday, October 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suncor Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Suncor Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Suncor Energy Trading Up 2.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.30. The stock has a market cap of $56.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 0.46.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $9.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. Suncor Energy had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 10.61%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suncor Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Suncor Energy by 14.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,015 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 172.7% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 19,844 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 12,566 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in Suncor Energy during the 1st quarter worth $213,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Suncor Energy by 36.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 944,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,572,000 after buying an additional 251,298 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 154.6% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 5,030 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 3,054 shares during the period. 67.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.