Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

Several research firms have weighed in on CVE. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. National Bank Financial cut shares of Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank upgraded Cenovus Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 12.7 %

Shares of Cenovus Energy stock opened at $11.25 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.30. Cenovus Energy has a fifty-two week low of $11.11 and a fifty-two week high of $21.90. The firm has a market cap of $20.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.27). Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 10.73%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.08 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.1269 per share. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is 40.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVE. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 104.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Cenovus Energy by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,742 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. Natixis acquired a new position in Cenovus Energy during the 4th quarter worth $98,000. Finally, Black Maple Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the fourth quarter worth $167,000. Institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, refines, transports, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products in Canada and internationally. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, Offshore, Canadian Refining, and U.S. Refining segments.