Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) Short Interest Up 76.6% in August

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 23,419,730 shares, an increase of 76.6% from the July 30th total of 13,262,277 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 5,833,816 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

SU traded up $0.85 on Tuesday, hitting $67.67. 1,013,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,707,368. Suncor Energy has a 12-month low of $37.76 and a 12-month high of $70.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.14 and a 200-day moving average of $62.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.29.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.19. Suncor Energy had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 15.62%.The company had revenue of $13.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Suncor Energy will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Suncor Energy Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SU. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Suncor Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $816,551,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Suncor Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $790,952,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 121.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 26,085,360 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,724,954,000 after acquiring an additional 14,304,131 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Suncor Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $466,810,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Suncor Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $351,892,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $106.00 price target on Suncor Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Desjardins raised Suncor Energy to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Suncor Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Suncor Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.25.

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.