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

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 28,315 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,998% compared to the typical daily volume of 914 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Suncor Energy by 2,358.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,209 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 16,509 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Suncor Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $2,940,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Suncor Energy by 90.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,299,876 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $316,226,000 after acquiring an additional 3,951,287 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,529,253 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $683,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,542 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Suncor Energy by 56.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 55,636 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 20,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Suncor Energy from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Suncor Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Suncor Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.83.

Suncor Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Suncor Energy stock opened at $37.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Suncor Energy has a twelve month low of $29.45 and a twelve month high of $41.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.40 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.73.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.30 billion. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Suncor Energy will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a $0.395 dividend. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. Suncor Energy’s payout ratio is currently 35.86%.

Suncor Energy Company Profile

Suncor Energy Inc operates as an integrated energy company in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through Oil Sands; Exploration and Production; and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment explores, develops, and produces bitumen, synthetic crude oil, and related products.