Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.00.

Cenovus Energy Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of CVE opened at $18.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 0.49. Cenovus Energy has a 12 month low of $10.23 and a 12 month high of $19.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.12. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 6.23%.The company had revenue of $10.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.72%.

Institutional Trading of Cenovus Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVE. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,557,000. Boston Partners grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 26,845,367 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $365,097,000 after purchasing an additional 606,042 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,156,435 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $56,341,000 after purchasing an additional 257,600 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Cenovus Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $74,895,000. Finally, 111 Capital raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 75.6% during the second quarter. 111 Capital now owns 74,541 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 32,092 shares during the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is owned by 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.