Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.6667.

Several brokerages have issued reports on CVE. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CVE opened at $25.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $47.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $21.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.63. Cenovus Energy has a twelve month low of $10.23 and a twelve month high of $25.39.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.89 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 13.25% and a net margin of 7.92%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Cenovus Energy by 574.8% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 18,405 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 6.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 747,472 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,397,000 after buying an additional 44,125 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 104.3% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,288 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 6.6% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,156,435 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $56,341,000 after acquiring an additional 257,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 974.8% during the second quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 162,094 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,204,000 after acquiring an additional 147,013 shares in the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy Inc is a Canadian integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas, together with downstream refining and marketing activities. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Cenovus operates a mix of oil sands thermal and dilbit assets, conventional oil and gas properties, and owns refining and midstream assets designed to move and process hydrocarbons into finished petroleum products for commercial markets.

The company was originally formed as a spin‑off from Encana Corporation in 2009 and has grown through organic development and strategic acquisitions.