Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cenovus Energy currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $29.67.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

Shares of Cenovus Energy stock opened at $26.43 on Wednesday. Cenovus Energy has a twelve month low of $11.60 and a twelve month high of $27.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28 and a beta of 0.34.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $10.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 124,313,513 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,103,090,000 after acquiring an additional 17,730,542 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,525,477 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,074,660,000 after acquiring an additional 7,197,843 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 50,979,140 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $862,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903,432 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 38,533,059 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $651,880,000 after acquiring an additional 11,019,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,643,806 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $520,196,000 after acquiring an additional 9,753,134 shares during the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.