Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Shares Cross Below 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE)’s share price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $27.61 and traded as low as $27.51. Cenovus Energy shares last traded at $27.5490, with a volume of 13,407,719 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CVE shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Sunday, October 18th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 11th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cenovus Energy currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

Cenovus Energy Trading Down 0.6%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.93 and a 200-day moving average of $27.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $49.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10 and a beta of 0.38.

Cenovus Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of C$0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 18.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cenovus Energy by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 24,601 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cenovus Energy by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 4,710 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 687 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Cenovus Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 51,325 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 26.4% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,456 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 0.8% in the second quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 101,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,491,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy is an integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Its activities include producing oil and natural gas, processing oil sands, refining crude oil and marketing energy products.

The company’s upstream operations include oil sands and conventional assets in Western Canada, as well as offshore production. Its downstream business operates refineries in Canada and the United States, helping connect its production with markets for refined products.

Cenovus was created in 2009 when Encana separated its integrated oil business.