Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Lake Street Capital set a $36.00 price target on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Cenovus Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.25.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:CVE opened at $29.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.57. Cenovus Energy has a 52-week low of $14.31 and a 52-week high of $32.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.77. The firm has a market cap of $54.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.34.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.05. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 9.53%.The firm had revenue of $10.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 574.8% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 18,405 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Cenovus Energy by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 747,472 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,397,000 after purchasing an additional 44,125 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new position in Cenovus Energy during the second quarter valued at about $525,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 57.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,912 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the second quarter worth $495,000. 51.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.