Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on CVE. Raymond James Financial lowered Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Veritas raised Cenovus Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Cenovus Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cenovus Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.25.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

CVE opened at $25.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Cenovus Energy has a 12-month low of $13.47 and a 12-month high of $32.07.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $10.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.47 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 9.53%.The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 35.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Cenovus Energy by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 124,313,513 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,103,090,000 after purchasing an additional 17,730,542 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Cenovus Energy by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,525,477 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,074,660,000 after purchasing an additional 7,197,843 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Cenovus Energy by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 50,979,140 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $862,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,903,432 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its position in Cenovus Energy by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 38,533,059 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $651,880,000 after purchasing an additional 11,019,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Cenovus Energy by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,643,806 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $520,196,000 after purchasing an additional 9,753,134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Cenovus Energy Company Profile

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.