Prudential Financial Inc. Increases Position in Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) by 68.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 111,222 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,340 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Suncor Energy were worth $3,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SU. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 82,204 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,035,000 after acquiring an additional 20,081 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Suncor Energy by 86.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 67,848 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,421,000 after purchasing an additional 31,366 shares in the last quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Suncor Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $300,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Suncor Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Suncor Energy by 104.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,083,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $110,017,000 after buying an additional 1,573,726 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.37% of the company’s stock.

Suncor Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

SU stock opened at $39.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.11 and a 200-day moving average of $38.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.33. Suncor Energy Inc. has a one year low of $33.81 and a one year high of $41.95.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (TSE:SU) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Suncor Energy Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Suncor Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.399 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Suncor Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Suncor Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank upgraded Suncor Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Suncor Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Suncor Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Suncor Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Suncor Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.20.

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.