CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) Trading 4.2% Higher After Insider Buying Activity

Shares of CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI) rose 4.2% on Monday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $19.76 and last traded at $19.74. Approximately 106,639 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 834,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.95.

Specifically, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn purchased 878,212 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.25 per share, with a total value of $16,027,369.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 67,570,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,163,322.25. This trade represents a 1.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CVI. Mizuho upped their price target on CVR Energy from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on CVR Energy from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on CVR Energy from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on CVR Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded CVR Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

CVR Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77 and a beta of 1.58.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.41). CVR Energy had a return on equity of 2.88% and a net margin of 0.89%. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 27.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that CVR Energy, Inc. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of CVR Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in CVR Energy by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 639,138 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,719,000 after buying an additional 81,590 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in CVR Energy by 214.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,030 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 53,203 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in CVR Energy by 58.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 101,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,327,000 after buying an additional 37,130 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in CVR Energy by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,075,058 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $47,789,000 after buying an additional 317,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVR Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,335,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.88% of the company’s stock.

CVR Energy Company Profile

CVR Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the petroleum refining and marketing, and nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing activities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Petroleum and Nitrogen Fertilizer. The Petroleum segment refines and supplies gasoline, crude oil, distillate, diesel fuel, and other refined products.