Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CVE. TD Securities lowered Cenovus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Cenovus Energy from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 39.3% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,416,146 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $257,831,000 after buying an additional 4,351,960 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 4,319.1% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,218,376 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $43,609,000 after buying an additional 2,168,176 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the third quarter worth $33,995,000. Anson Funds Management LP increased its stake in Cenovus Energy by 188.2% during the 3rd quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 1,877,800 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,405,000 after buying an additional 1,226,221 shares during the period. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 19.0% during the second quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 7,500,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $147,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.19% of the company's stock.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

CVE stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.96. 7,818,533 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,871,986. Cenovus Energy has a 1-year low of $14.20 and a 1-year high of $21.90. The company has a market cap of $27.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 2.01. 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 simple moving average is $15.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.98.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 6.72%. The company's revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.133 dividend. This is an increase from Cenovus Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

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.