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

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 28,315 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,998% compared to the typical daily volume of 914 put options.

Institutional Trading of Suncor Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 64.1% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Suncor Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Suncor Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 143.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 789 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Suncor Energy by 95.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 793 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Suncor Energy stock opened at $43.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $51.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Suncor Energy has a 52 week low of $30.79 and a 52 week high of $45.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.87.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $9.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 13.01%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Suncor Energy will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This is an increase from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 56.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial raised Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Friday, October 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.