Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Short Interest Down 37.3% in December

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,180,000 shares, a decrease of 37.3% from the December 15th total of 17,820,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 7,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

Shares of Cenovus Energy stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.10. 11,096,599 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,954,267. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 2.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.40 and a 200 day moving average of $17.17. Cenovus Energy has a fifty-two week low of $14.20 and a fifty-two week high of $21.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

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 EPS 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 return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 6.72%. The firm'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 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid 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 dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.55%.

Institutional Trading of Cenovus Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,648 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $162,000. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $174,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Cenovus Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, December 28th. 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Securities cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.00.

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.