Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU)

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 112,351 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 2,013% compared to the average volume of 5,316 call options.

Suncor Energy Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:SU traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.11. 2,751,345 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,432,454. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $51.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.16. 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 twelve month low of $30.79 and a twelve month high of $58.47. The company has a market cap of $67.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 0.43.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.79 EPS 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 company had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Suncor Energy will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SU. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 28th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Suncor Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Suncor Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $46.15 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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