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

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in 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. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Suncor Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SU traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.41. The company had a trading volume of 2,564,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,993,987. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.90. The stock has a market cap of $50.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.13. Suncor Energy has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $39.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.406 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This is a boost from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Suncor Energy by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,379,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,732,051,000 after buying an additional 731,163 shares in the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Suncor Energy in the third quarter valued at about $77,355,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Suncor Energy by 13.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,348,348 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $183,876,000 after acquiring an additional 628,262 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 1,689.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 565,339 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $18,118,000 after purchasing an additional 533,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,248,932 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $593,188,000 after purchasing an additional 49,765 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Suncor Energy Company Profile

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.