Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on SU. Tudor Pickering upgraded Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Desjardins raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SU opened at $38.23 on Tuesday. Suncor Energy has a 52-week low of $33.26 and a 52-week high of $41.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.80% and a return on equity of 15.37%. Equities research analysts forecast that Suncor Energy will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Suncor Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.399 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 45.22%.

Institutional Trading of Suncor Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SU. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Suncor Energy by 1,324.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,469,008 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $123,774,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225,543 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 39.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,706,616 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $346,298,000 after buying an additional 2,767,043 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 2,061.8% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,438,291 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,990,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,503 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 500.4% during the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 2,453,314 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,459,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044,680 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 97.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734,572 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $133,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

About Suncor Energy

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.