Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Stock Position in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE - Free Report) TSE: CVE by 36.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,378,894 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,166,294 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Cenovus Energy worth $66,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,337,551 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221,549 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,334 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $128,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873,415 shares during the last quarter. Panview Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Cenovus Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,741,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 273.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,440,237 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $21,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Canada LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 1,952,419 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $29,577,000 after purchasing an additional 799,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CVE. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank raised Cenovus Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

CVE stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,336,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,645,506. The stock has a market cap of $21.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $13.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.00. Cenovus Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.23 and a 1 year high of $21.58.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) 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 company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.08 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 5.82%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.1269 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.50%.

Cenovus Energy 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.