Scotia Capital Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)

Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE - Free Report) TSE: CVE by 34.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,142,453 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 603,622 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. owned 0.06% of Cenovus Energy worth $17,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 105.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,221,549 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Cenovus Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,334 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $128,783,000 after buying an additional 1,873,415 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,378,894 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $66,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,294 shares during the last quarter. Panview Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $16,741,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 273.4% in 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 period. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. Scotiabank upgraded Cenovus Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. National Bank Financial cut Cenovus Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

CVE traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.71. The stock had a trading volume of 4,691,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,634,287. The company has a market cap of $21.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 1.46. Cenovus Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.23 and a 1 year high of $21.58. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $13.47 and a 200 day moving average of $14.97.

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). Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 5.82%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.08 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.1269 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. Cenovus Energy's payout ratio is 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.