Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $50.12 and last traded at $49.6090, with a volume of 6850409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Suncor Energy in a research report on Friday, October 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Suncor Energy from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Suncor Energy currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $56.50.

Suncor Energy Trading Up 3.1%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27 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 (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a positive change from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Suncor Energy by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Suncor Energy during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in shares of Suncor Energy during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 143.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 789 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted 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. 67.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Suncor Energy Company Profile

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.