Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE) Downgraded by UBS Group to “Hold”

UBS Group lowered shares of Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE) (NYSE:CVE) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. National Bank Financial set a C$60.00 price target on Cenovus Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Cenovus Energy from C$45.00 to C$51.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotia upped their price objective on Cenovus Energy from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Gerdes Energy Research raised Cenovus Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Desjardins set a C$50.00 target price on Cenovus Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cenovus Energy presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$44.44.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 1.5%

Cenovus Energy stock opened at C$45.38 on Wednesday. Cenovus Energy has a fifty-two week low of C$21.62 and a fifty-two week high of C$46.13. The stock has a market cap of C$83.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.09 and a beta of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$40.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$37.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE) (NYSE:CVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported C$1.53 EPS for the quarter. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 21.02%. The firm had revenue of C$17.43 billion during the quarter. Research analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 2.2619279 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is presently 22.78%.

Insider Activity at Cenovus Energy

In other Cenovus Energy news, Director Alex Pourbaix sold 432,731 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$42.05, for a total transaction of C$18,196,338.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,455,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$61,224,631.80. This represents a 22.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Jonathan Michael Mckenzie sold 104,974 shares of Cenovus Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$43.49, for a total value of C$4,565,319.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 843,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$36,697,905.76. This trade represents a 11.06% decrease in their position. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 601,524 shares of company stock worth $25,546,211. Insiders own 32.03% of the company’s stock.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy is an integrated oil company, focused on creating value through the development of its oil sands assets. The company also engages in production of conventional crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Alberta, Canada, with refining operations in the U.S. Net upstream production averaged 472 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2020, and the company estimates that it holds 6.7 billion boe of proven and probable reserves.