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

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock 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 topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Suncor Energy in a report on Friday, October 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $56.50.

Suncor Energy Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $54.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase 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 yield of 5.2%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in Suncor Energy by 65.8% in the 2nd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 103,082 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,854,000 after purchasing an additional 40,892 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 1.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 796,967 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,859,000 after buying an additional 10,514 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 64.9% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 117,779 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,924,000 after acquiring an additional 46,342 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in Suncor Energy by 15.6% during the second quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 315,278 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,818,000 after acquiring an additional 42,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in Suncor Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,653,000. Institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

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.