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

Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CVE shares. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Friday, April 11th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Cenovus Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

CVE stock opened at $11.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Cenovus Energy has a 52-week low of $10.23 and a 52-week high of $21.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.52.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.27). Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 5.82%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.08 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.1269 dividend. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is 40.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 1,165.1% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,808 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 377.7% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 61,388 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 48,537 shares in the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 266,093 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 80,785 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Cenovus Energy by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 685,761 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,387,000 after buying an additional 6,843 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Cenovus Energy in the 1st quarter worth $164,000. 51.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.