Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,040,000 shares, a drop of 9.0% from the October 15th total of 16,520,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 7,870,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Securities cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Cenovus Energy from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cenovus Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cenovus Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 640.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,065 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Cenovus Energy during the first quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

CVE stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.10. 2,962,189 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,843,038. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.46. Cenovus Energy has a 52-week low of $14.69 and a 52-week high of $21.90. The company has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 2.05.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 6.72%. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.133 dividend. This is a positive change from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 36.55%.

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.