Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 12,968,035 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 11,718,900 shares.The stock last traded at $13.14 and had previously closed at $13.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CVE. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 28th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.25.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 1.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.76.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.08 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 5.82%. Research analysts predict that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.1269 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 104.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,742 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis bought a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, refines, transports, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products in Canada and internationally. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, Offshore, Canadian Refining, and U.S. Refining segments.