Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Trading Up 5.6% – Should You Buy?

Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) shares rose 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $26.46 and last traded at $26.62. 2,858,469 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 12,003,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Lake Street Capital set a $36.00 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cenovus Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.25.

Cenovus Energy Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $48.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.96.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.47 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy Inc will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 17,730,542 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 440.8% during the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 15,414,179 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $260,797,000 after acquiring an additional 12,564,179 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 111.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,770,723 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $604,107,000 after acquiring an additional 11,990,405 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 322.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 15,521,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $211,338,000 after acquiring an additional 11,849,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $651,880,000 after acquiring an additional 11,019,212 shares during the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.