Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 10,676,178 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 128% from the previous session’s volume of 4,689,770 shares.The stock last traded at $68.7790 and had previously closed at $68.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Suncor Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $106.00 price objective on Suncor Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Suncor Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Suncor Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Suncor Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.25.

Suncor Energy Trading Down 1.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $78.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.19. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $13.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

Suncor Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.04%.

Institutional Trading of Suncor Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Suncor Energy by 121.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,085,360 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,724,954,000 after acquiring an additional 14,304,131 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 21,050,387 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $934,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,516 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,820,924 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $746,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,959 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Suncor Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $816,551,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Suncor Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $790,952,000. Institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

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.