Top oil producers reward investors

Article Excerpt

Oil prices have declined lately due to fears that rising interest rates will trigger an economic slowdown. However, cash flow at these top oil producers remains strong, which lets them return more of that cash to their shareholders. SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $42 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol SU; Cyclical-Growth Payer Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $54.6 billion; Dividend yield: 5.0%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Average; www.suncor.com) is Canada’s largest integrated oil firm, with major projects in the Alberta oil sands. It also has four refineries (three in Canada and one in Colorado) and 1,590 Petro-Canada retail and wholesale locations. With the December 2022 payment, Suncor raised your quarterly dividend by 10.6%, to $0.52 a share from $0.47. The new annual rate of $2.08 yields a high 5.0%. Suncor recently decided to hang on to the Petro-Canada chain after conducting a strategic review. It feels keeping it will benefit shareholders more than a spinoff would. The review was part of Suncor’s deal with…