Zacks Research Upgrades Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) to “Hold”

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. 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. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $29.67.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CVE opened at $25.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.80. Cenovus Energy has a fifty-two week low of $10.23 and a fifty-two week high of $26.08.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CVE. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 13,407 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Cenovus Energy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 93,986 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cenovus Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 65,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,839 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

About Cenovus Energy

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.