Cenovus Energy’s (CVE) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $28.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. TD Securities downgraded Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Cenovus Energy from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CVE opened at $15.33 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $27.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.31. Cenovus Energy has a 52-week low of $14.20 and a 52-week high of $21.90.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm’s revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.133 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. This is a positive change from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is currently 36.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 39.3% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,416,146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $257,831,000 after acquiring an additional 4,351,960 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 12,538,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $246,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,613,320 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 5.3% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,186,227 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $219,897,000 after purchasing an additional 562,663 shares during the period. Ninepoint Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 19.0% during the second quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 7,500,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $147,450,000 after buying an additional 1,200,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 9.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,413,919 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $109,232,000 after buying an additional 568,732 shares during the period. 51.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cenovus Energy Company Profile

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.