CVR Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CVI)

CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVI) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 2,181 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 240% compared to the typical daily volume of 642 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CVI shares. Weiss Ratings lowered CVR Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CVR Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $29.25.

CVR Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVI traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.19. 167,881 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,377,934. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.58 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79. CVR Energy has a 1-year low of $15.10 and a 1-year high of $41.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.12.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.84) by $0.04. CVR Energy had a negative return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 0.38%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. CVR Energy’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that CVR Energy will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVR Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. CVR Energy’s payout ratio is presently 569.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVR Energy

In other CVR Energy news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn acquired 275,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.41 per share, with a total value of $5,888,006.92. Following the transaction, the insider owned 71,201,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,524,432,143.75. This trade represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 783,404 shares of company stock worth $16,445,044. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVR Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CVR Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in CVR Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in CVR Energy during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of CVR Energy during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CVR Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. 98.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CVR Energy

CVR Energy, Inc is an independent downstream energy company engaged primarily in petroleum refining and nitrogen fertilizer production in the United States. Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, CVR Energy operates through two reportable segments—Petroleum Products and Nitrogen Fertilizers—leveraging its refining expertise and distribution network to serve both wholesale and retail markets across key regions in the U.S.

In its Petroleum Products segment, the company owns and operates the Coffeyville, Kansas refinery, which has the capability to process various grades of crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products.