Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU)

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 28,315 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,998% compared to the typical daily volume of 914 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SU. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 25,134,149 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $956,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209,073 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 23,048,048 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $878,131,000 after acquiring an additional 366,432 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 18,546,207 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $684,726,000 after acquiring an additional 333,440 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 1.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 180,533 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 9,695,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $357,827,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829,936 shares during the period. 67.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SU. Desjardins raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.40.

Suncor Energy Price Performance

Suncor Energy stock opened at $39.56 on Thursday. Suncor Energy has a 52 week low of $29.45 and a 52 week high of $41.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.12.

Suncor Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.4089 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Suncor Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Suncor Energy’s payout ratio is currently 35.29%.

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.