Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

CVE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.67.

Cenovus Energy Stock Up 1.6%

CVE opened at $24.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Cenovus Energy has a 52 week low of $11.60 and a 52 week high of $27.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.95.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.89 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 13.25% and a net margin of 7.92%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Cenovus Energy will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 13,407 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 93,986 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 65,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,839 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cenovus Energy

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.