Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.67.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CVE. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Cenovus Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Friday, January 26th.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

CVE stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $19.99. 5,257,429 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,796,163. The firm has a market cap of $37.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.95. Cenovus Energy has a 1-year low of $14.69 and a 1-year high of $21.37.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 14.85%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.1033 dividend. This represents a $0.41 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.95%.

Institutional Trading of Cenovus Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVE. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 150,534,829 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,508,185,000 after buying an additional 7,750,480 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,480,149 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,030,177,000 after acquiring an additional 690,057 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 47,327,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $986,334,000 after purchasing an additional 388,652 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,191,779 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $706,503,000 after purchasing an additional 8,841,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 29,412,644 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $676,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.