Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Upgraded by Veritas to Strong-Buy Rating

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was upgraded by investment analysts at Veritas from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

CVE has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank raised shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.33.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

NYSE CVE opened at $22.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.43. Cenovus Energy has a twelve month low of $10.23 and a twelve month high of $23.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.23. 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 (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.08. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 13.25% and a net margin of 7.92%.The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 291.3% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 106,582,971 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,809,758,000 after acquiring an additional 79,345,506 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 440.8% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 15,414,179 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $260,797,000 after acquiring an additional 12,564,179 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 322.7% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 15,521,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $211,338,000 after purchasing an additional 11,849,355 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $651,880,000 after purchasing an additional 11,019,212 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $520,196,000 after purchasing an additional 9,753,134 shares during the period. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.