Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) Short Interest Up 318.5% in February

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 43,060,000 shares, a growth of 318.5% from the January 31st total of 10,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.6 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Suncor Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SU. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,019,357 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,892,526,000 after buying an additional 323,714 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Suncor Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 24,289,019 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $865,885,000 after purchasing an additional 169,700 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Suncor Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 23,308,055 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $831,631,000 after purchasing an additional 209,447 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Suncor Energy by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 19,098,225 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $680,847,000 after purchasing an additional 552,018 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Suncor Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,942,455 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $516,728,000 after purchasing an additional 180,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Tudor Pickering raised Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Suncor Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Desjardins raised Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Suncor Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.00.

Suncor Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Suncor Energy stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,809,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,401,910. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $47.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.12. Suncor Energy has a 1-year low of $33.79 and a 1-year high of $41.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.64.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Suncor Energy had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 11.80%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Suncor Energy will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Suncor Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.399 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.22%.

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.