Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. ATB Cormark Capital Markets raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Scotiabank raised shares of Suncor Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Suncor Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Suncor Energy from $75.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.67.

Suncor Energy Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:SU opened at $56.69 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.00 and its 200 day moving average is $57.81. The stock has a market cap of $66.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.30. Suncor Energy has a 52-week low of $37.76 and a 52-week high of $70.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by ($0.04). Suncor Energy had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Suncor Energy will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Suncor Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Suncor Energy by 14.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,015 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 3,115 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 172.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,981 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,667 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its stake in Suncor Energy by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 50,278 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,883,000 after buying an additional 7,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Suncor Energy by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,514,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.