StockNews.com Downgrades Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday.

SU has been the topic of several other reports. Desjardins raised shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Suncor Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Suncor Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Cibc World Mkts raised Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Suncor Energy Stock Down 0.0 %

Suncor Energy stock opened at $38.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.20 and its 200-day moving average is $38.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.12. Suncor Energy has a fifty-two week low of $33.26 and a fifty-two week high of $41.94.

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

Suncor Energy Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Suncor Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SU. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Suncor Energy by 0.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 323,714 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Suncor Energy by 0.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Suncor Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 23,308,055 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $831,631,000 after purchasing an additional 209,447 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 19,098,225 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $680,847,000 after buying an additional 552,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Suncor Energy by 1.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,942,455 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $516,728,000 after buying an additional 180,533 shares in the last quarter. 67.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.