New investments enhance Suncor’s outlook

Article Excerpt

SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $49 (Toronto symbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $78.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.suncor.com) is Canada’s largest integrated oil company, with major projects in the Alberta oil sands. It also owns four refineries (three in Canada and one in Colorado), along with 1,500 Petro-Canada gas stations. Revenue rose 0.5%, from $40.3 billion in 2013 to $39.9 billion in 2014. Due to lower crude oil prices, revenue dropped 26.7% to $29.7 billion in 2015; it fell another 9.1% in 2016 to $27.0 billion. Gaining control of Syncrude paying off In March 2016, the company acquired Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. in an all-stock transaction; that firm owned 36.74% of the Syncrude oil sands project in northern Alberta. If you include Canadian Oil Sands’ debt of $2.6 billion, the total price was $7.1 billion. Subsequent purchases have increased Suncor’s stake in Syncrude to 58.74%. Due to that acquisition and improving oil prices, Suncor’s…