Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Short Interest Up 6.9% in August

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,240,000 shares, a growth of 6.9% from the August 15th total of 12,390,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 7,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on CVE. Raymond James upgraded Cenovus Energy to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Cenovus Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $30.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 71.4% in the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Cenovus Energy by 124.2% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,558 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 1,417 shares during the period. American National Bank bought a new position in Cenovus Energy during the first quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Cenovus Energy by 17.6% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

Shares of CVE stock opened at $16.46 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Cenovus Energy has a 12 month low of $14.69 and a 12 month high of $21.90. The firm has a market cap of $30.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 2.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.46.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.13). Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 8.56%. The business had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.78 billion. Research analysts expect that Cenovus Energy will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.132 dividend. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.44%.

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.