Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Cenovus Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group upgraded Cenovus Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $26.67.

Cenovus Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Cenovus Energy stock opened at $20.49 on Friday. Cenovus Energy has a 12 month low of $14.69 and a 12 month high of $21.90. The company has a market capitalization of $38.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 2.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 16.53%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.0981 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVE. Financial Perspectives Inc bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Cenovus Energy by 80.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,453 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Cenovus Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Cenovus Energy Company Profile

Cenovus Energy Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, refines, transports, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products in Canada and internationally. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, Offshore, Canadian Refining, and U.S. Refining segments.