Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 35.8% in September

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 13,306,044 shares, a decline of 35.8% from the September 15th total of 20,739,907 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,650,638 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SU shares. Morgan Stanley set a $106.00 price target on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Desjardins raised shares of Suncor Energy to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.62.

Suncor Energy Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:SU traded up $2.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.80. 5,751,511 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,468,628. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.78. The firm has a market cap of $90.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.36. Suncor Energy has a 1-year low of $37.76 and a 1-year high of $79.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.19. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $13.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Suncor Energy will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a C$0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Suncor Energy’s payout ratio is 31.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 255.0% in the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 78,316 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,204,000 after purchasing an additional 56,254 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 3.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,609,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $833,622,000 after purchasing an additional 411,243 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Suncor Energy by 6.3% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 846,111 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,802,000 after buying an additional 50,502 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Suncor Energy by 2.1% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 11,657,514 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $625,497,000 after buying an additional 239,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Suncor Energy during the second quarter worth $351,892,000. 67.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Suncor Energy

Suncor Energy Inc is an integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Its operations span the development and production of crude oil from Canada’s oil sands, offshore petroleum production, refining, and the marketing and distribution of petroleum products.

The company produces synthetic crude oil, bitumen and conventional crude oil, which are processed through its refining operations into fuels and other refined products. Suncor markets fuel and convenience products through the Petro-Canada retail network and supplies commercial, wholesale and industrial customers.