Cenovus Energy (CVE) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Investment Research

Posted by Don Miller on Feb 14th, 2019 // No Comments

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

According to Zacks, “Cenovus Energy’s operating cost jumped 21% from the year-ago comparable quarter. This is a concern for the company. Even the debt burden nearly doubled in early-2017 with the acquisition of Foster Creek and Christina Lake properties from ConocoPhillips. Currently, the company’s debt-to-capitalization ratio of 32.1% is higher than the industry average of 24.5% – reflecting levered balance sheet. Moreover, in the trailing 12 months, the Cenovus Energy’s free cash flow plunged 38.8%, hurting the company’s potential of returning cash back to the shareholders either through dividend payments or stock buybacks in the coming quarters. Given these headwinds, Cenovus Energy seems like a risky bet that ordinary investors should exit.”

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “average” rating and issued a $13.50 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Monday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Monday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 11th. Tudor Pickering raised Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 10th. Finally, CIBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.54.

Cenovus Energy stock opened at $8.34 on Tuesday. Cenovus Energy has a one year low of $6.15 and a one year high of $11.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -417.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.72.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 13th. The oil and gas company reported ($1.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.87). Cenovus Energy had a negative net margin of 3.15% and a negative return on equity of 9.58%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.42) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post -0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Cenovus Energy by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,197,584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,072,000 after purchasing an additional 694,453 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in Cenovus Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $696,000. Credit Suisse AG increased its position in Cenovus Energy by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 3,603,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,145,000 after purchasing an additional 285,779 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cenovus Energy by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,111,158 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $281,955,000 after purchasing an additional 711,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Cenovus Energy by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 147,564 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 33,114 shares in the last quarter. 74.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cenovus Energy Company Profile

Cenovus Energy, Inc engages in gas and oil provisions. Its activities include development, production, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada. It operates through four segments: Oil Sands, Deep Basin, Refining & Marketing, and Corporate & Eliminations. The Oil sands segment includes the development and production of bitumen and natural gas in northeast Alberta including Foster Creek, Christina Lake and Narrows Lake as well as projects in the early stages of development, such as Grand Rapids and Telephone Lake.