Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on CVE. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Cenovus Energy from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank raised shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research downgraded Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.33.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of CVE stock opened at $21.88 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.96 and a 200-day moving average of $17.73. The firm has a market cap of $41.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Cenovus Energy has a 12 month low of $10.23 and a 12 month high of $23.39.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.08. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 13.25%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 37.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy in the second quarter worth about $2,557,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,655,878 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $62,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500,590 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in Cenovus Energy by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 26,845,367 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $365,097,000 after purchasing an additional 606,042 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Cenovus Energy by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,156,435 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $56,341,000 after purchasing an additional 257,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in Cenovus Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,895,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy Inc is a Canadian integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas, together with downstream refining and marketing activities. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Cenovus operates a mix of oil sands thermal and dilbit assets, conventional oil and gas properties, and owns refining and midstream assets designed to move and process hydrocarbons into finished petroleum products for commercial markets.

The company was originally formed as a spin?off from Encana Corporation in 2009 and has grown through organic development and strategic acquisitions.