691,498 Shares in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Bought by HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 691,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,569,000. Cenovus Energy accounts for 1.3% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 5.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 16,347 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Cenovus Energy by 1.6% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 76,940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,496 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Cenovus Energy stock opened at $15.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 2.02. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $16.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Cenovus Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.69 and a fifty-two week high of $21.90.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.25 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.88%. Cenovus Energy’s revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.133 per share. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. This is a positive change from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is presently 36.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Cenovus Energy from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cenovus Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

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.