1 month ago
55
Suncor Energy Inc. president and CEO Rich Kruger waits to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle (The Canadian Press)
Suncor Energy (SU.TO)(SU) stock jumped as much as sever per cent on Wednesday, following a pair of analyst upgrades praising robust quarterly results from the Canadian oil giant.
The Calgary-based company has shown strong performance since Rich Kruger took over as chief executive officer in April 2023, according to TD Cowen analyst Menno Hulshof, who upgraded Toronto-listed shares to “buy” from “hold” on Wednesday.
Randy Ollenberger at BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “market perform,” highlighting Suncor’s improved operational performance, and ahead-of-schedule maintenance activity. He referred to the quarter as a “big time beat,” in a note to clients.
“The company was able to execute its significant turnaround activity more efficiently than expected, which could result in it achieving the high end of its 2024 production and throughput guidance,” Ollenberger wrote.
Suncor shares climbed 5.77 per cent to $53.91 at 11:26 a.m. ET on Wednesday, adding to a 20 per cent gain year-to date. Hulshof and Ollenberger maintain $59 and $62 price targets, respectively.
Suncor reported financial results after the closing bell on Tuesday. Speaking on a conference call with analysts Wednesday morning, Kruger said the company’s latest results represent the best second quarter, and best first-half performance in Suncor’s history.
“Multiple asset-specific records were set,” Kruger said. “With the majority of 2024's planned maintenance complete, the company is very well positioned for a strong second half of the year.”
Upstream production climbed to 770,600 barrels per day in the quarter, up from 741,900 bpd a year earlier ago. On the downstream side, refinery use climbed to 92 per cent from 85 per cent in the second quarter last year. Refined throughput rose to 430,500 barrels per day, up about nine per cent year-over year.
Suncor also benefited from the acquisition of an additional stake in the Fort Hills project from TotalEnergies, which closed in November.
Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.
Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
