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

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Desjardins upgraded Cenovus Energy to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Gerdes Energy Research upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cenovus Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

CVE stock opened at $32.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $59.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.26. Cenovus Energy has a 12-month low of $15.63 and a 12-month high of $33.40.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11. The firm had revenue of $14.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.87 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 12.37%.The business’s revenue was up 47.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Cenovus Energy will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is currently 24.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 45.8% during the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 102,666 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,547,000 after buying an additional 32,250 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC lifted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 10,241 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cenovus Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Kerrisdale Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kerrisdale Advisers LLC now owns 141,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,504,000 after acquiring an additional 30,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Cenovus Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $439,000. Institutional investors 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.