Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.25.

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

Institutional Trading of Cenovus Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 191,412,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,901,131,000 after purchasing an additional 26,127,617 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 53,572,829 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $811,769,000 after acquiring an additional 382,519 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,416,146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $257,831,000 after acquiring an additional 4,351,960 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,001,002 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $196,935,000 after acquiring an additional 4,220,663 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,446,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $188,467,000 after purchasing an additional 117,568 shares during the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cenovus Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CVE opened at $13.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 1.99. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $14.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.57. Cenovus Energy has a 52-week low of $12.08 and a 52-week high of $21.90.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.08 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 5.82%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.1269 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.