Cenovus Energy Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CVE)

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 25,308 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 340% compared to the average volume of 5,747 call options.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

Shares of CVE traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.28. The stock had a trading volume of 10,589,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,047,904. The firm has a market cap of $22.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.89 and a 200 day moving average of $16.05. Cenovus Energy has a 12 month low of $12.07 and a 12 month high of $21.90.

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

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.1269 per share. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CVE shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

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

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.