Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 21,610,000 shares, a growth of 67.6% from the February 13th total of 12,890,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,310,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Cenovus Energy Stock Up 3.2 %

CVE traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.49. 9,139,073 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,481,660. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Cenovus Energy has a 12-month low of $12.08 and a 12-month high of $21.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 1.99.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.08 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 10.73%. Analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.1269 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 241,113 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,653,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 106,532 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 104.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 16,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Finally, Montgomery Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Montgomery Investment Management Inc. now owns 56,535 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the period. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on CVE shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Cenovus Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. National Bank Financial downgraded Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.25.

Cenovus Energy Company Profile

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.