Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.25.

A number of brokerages recently commented on CVE. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Cenovus Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. National Bank Financial cut Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 241,113 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,653,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 106,532 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 104.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 16,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montgomery Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Montgomery Investment Management Inc. now owns 56,535 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cenovus Energy Trading Up 2.1 %

Cenovus Energy stock opened at $13.90 on Thursday. Cenovus Energy has a 52-week low of $12.08 and a 52-week high of $21.90. The company has a market cap of $25.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.57.

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

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.1269 per share. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.50%.

About Cenovus Energy

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.