Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Veritas

Veritas upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) from a strong sell rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on CVE. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Cenovus Energy from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cenovus Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.33.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Cenovus Energy stock opened at $22.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.02 and its 200-day moving average is $18.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.43. Cenovus Energy has a fifty-two week low of $10.23 and a fifty-two week high of $23.89.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.08. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 13.25%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is 37.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 45,142 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 11,202 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the fourth quarter worth $184,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Cenovus Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,058,000. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in Cenovus Energy by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 11,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in Cenovus Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 5,518,825 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $93,367,000 after buying an additional 106,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Cenovus Energy Company Profile

Cenovus Energy Inc is a Canadian integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas, together with downstream refining and marketing activities. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Cenovus operates a mix of oil sands thermal and dilbit assets, conventional oil and gas properties, and owns refining and midstream assets designed to move and process hydrocarbons into finished petroleum products for commercial markets.

The company was originally formed as a spin‑off from Encana Corporation in 2009 and has grown through organic development and strategic acquisitions.