Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CVE. UBS Group raised Cenovus Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Cenovus Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $26.67.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Cenovus Energy stock opened at $20.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 2.15. Cenovus Energy has a 1-year low of $14.69 and a 1-year high of $21.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.99.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $9.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 14.85% and a net margin of 7.88%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.1033 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.41 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a positive change from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 29,149 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,336 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 22,453 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 57,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.