Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) Short Interest Up 202.3% in February

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 19,196,977 shares, an increase of 202.3% from the January 29th total of 6,349,777 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,944,954 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,944,954 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Suncor Energy Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of SU stock traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.50. 2,979,479 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,176,021. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.46 and a 200 day moving average of $44.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Suncor Energy has a 1 year low of $30.79 and a 1 year high of $57.13. The firm has a market cap of $67.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.46.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.79 billion. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 12.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Suncor Energy will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Suncor Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SU has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Suncor Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $46.15 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research lowered Suncor Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Suncor Energy from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Suncor Energy from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suncor Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SU. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,047 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in Suncor Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 6,149 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Suncor Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL raised its holdings in Suncor Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 22,741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Suncor Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 28,748 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in 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.