Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $32.07 and last traded at $30.5150, with a volume of 11354357 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVE has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Veritas upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Lake Street Capital set a $36.00 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cenovus Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.25.

Cenovus Energy Trading Down 4.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $57.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.72 and its 200 day moving average is $21.59.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $10.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.47 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cenovus Energy Inc will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is currently 32.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 29.1% in the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 484,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,216,000 after acquiring an additional 109,000 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $102,662,000. Ninepoint Partners LP grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 490.0% in the third quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 3,540,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,145,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940,000 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 69.6% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,655,878 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $62,081,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,935,599 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $303,470,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507,525 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Cenovus Energy Company Profile

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.