Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Position in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE - Free Report) TSE: CVE by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,116,002 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 163,732 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.12% of Cenovus Energy worth $38,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 640.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,065 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 8.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,648 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the third quarter worth about $162,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 12.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,496 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares during the period. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

CVE stock opened at $14.77 on Wednesday. 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 $16.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.74. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 2.02. Cenovus Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.55 and a 1 year high of $21.90.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. 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 3.60%. Cenovus Energy's payout ratio is 36.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CVE shares. TD Securities lowered Cenovus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered Cenovus Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Cenovus Energy from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Cenovus Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.00.

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.