CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) Trading 4.2% Higher on Insider Buying Activity

CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) was up 4.2% during trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $19.76 and last traded at $19.74. Approximately 106,639 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 834,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.95.

Specifically, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn purchased 878,212 shares of CVR Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.25 per share, for a total transaction of $16,027,369.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 67,570,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,233,163,322.25. The trade was a 1.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CVI shares. StockNews.com downgraded CVR Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Scotiabank cut their price target on CVR Energy from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of CVR Energy from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of CVR Energy from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of CVR Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $23.00.

CVR Energy Trading Up 7.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.33.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. CVR Energy had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 2.88%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 27.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CVR Energy, Inc. will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVR Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in CVR Energy by 104.5% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 16,704 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 8,537 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of CVR Energy by 5.6% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 107,345 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 5,656 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CVR Energy by 0.8% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 324,017 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,674,000 after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CVR Energy by 47.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of CVR Energy by 176.7% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 70,609 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,890,000 after buying an additional 45,094 shares in the last quarter. 98.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CVR Energy

CVR Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the petroleum refining and marketing, and nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing activities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Petroleum and Nitrogen Fertilizer. The Petroleum segment refines and supplies gasoline, crude oil, distillate, diesel fuel, and other refined products.