Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on SU. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Suncor Energy in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Suncor Energy in a report on Friday, October 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

SU opened at $42.96 on Friday. Suncor Energy has a 52-week low of $30.79 and a 52-week high of $45.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.81.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $9.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. Suncor Energy had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 10.61%.During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Suncor Energy 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 will be paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. This is a positive change from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Suncor Energy by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 704 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Suncor Energy during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Suncor Energy in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 143.5% in the third quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 789 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 95.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 793 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.