Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on SU. Desjardins upgraded shares of Suncor Energy to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Suncor Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Suncor Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.25.

Suncor Energy Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of SU opened at $68.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.30. Suncor Energy has a 1 year low of $37.76 and a 1 year high of $70.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.61.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.19. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $13.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Suncor Energy will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Suncor Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Suncor Energy’s payout ratio is presently 32.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Suncor Energy by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,278 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in 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 raised its position in Suncor Energy by 3.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 196 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.