Short Interest in Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) Declines By 18.7%

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,870,000 shares, a decrease of 18.7% from the March 31st total of 19,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SU traded down $0.03 on Friday, reaching $39.41. 2,564,634 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,993,987. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.13. Suncor Energy has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $39.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $36.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.46 billion. Suncor Energy had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 16.08%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Suncor Energy will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.406 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. This is a positive change from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 34.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Suncor Energy from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Suncor Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SU. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 57,318,037 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,836,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,629 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Suncor Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,534,957 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,619,140,000 after buying an additional 155,343 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Suncor Energy by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 32,070,496 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,032,453,000 after buying an additional 4,612,764 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 22,384,816 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $717,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 20,530,994 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $657,772,000 after purchasing an additional 182,289 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

About Suncor Energy

Suncor Energy Inc operates as an integrated energy company in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through Oil Sands; Exploration and Production; and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment explores, develops, and produces bitumen, synthetic crude oil, and related products.