Zacks Research Upgrades Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) to “Strong-Buy”

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Cenovus Energy from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Desjardins raised Cenovus Energy to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

CVE stock opened at $30.98 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Cenovus Energy has a one year low of $15.63 and a one year high of $34.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.46.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.11. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The business had revenue of $14.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 47.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CVE. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cenovus Energy by 45.8% during the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 102,666 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 32,250 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Cenovus Energy by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 16,995,459 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $287,897,000 after purchasing an additional 595,518 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $17,275,000. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,678,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $411,552,000. 51.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE) is an integrated Canadian energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, with a significant focus on oil sands operations in Alberta. Its upstream activities include oil sands mining and in situ production, conventional oil and gas production, and the upgrading of heavy crude into synthetic crude oil.

Cenovus also operates in the downstream energy sector through crude oil refining, petroleum upgrading, marketing and distribution.