Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE) Cut to "Hold" at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group downgraded Cenovus Energy from “strong buy” to “hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “buy” with an average price target of C$44.44.
• Several other firms recently raised their price targets to approximately C$49–C$51, while Cenovus shares opened at C$45.38 and were trading near their 52-week high of C$46.13.
• Cenovus reported quarterly EPS of C$1.53 on C$17.43 billion in revenue, with a 12.37% net margin and 21.02% return on equity. Insiders have sold 601,524 shares worth roughly C$25.5 million over the past 90 days.

Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE - Get Free Report) NYSE: CVE was downgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Scotia boosted their price target on shares of Cenovus Energy from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD increased their price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy from C$46.00 to C$49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from C$47.00 to C$51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Cenovus Energy from C$49.00 to C$51.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Cenovus Energy from C$45.00 to C$51.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of C$44.44.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

Shares of TSE:CVE opened at C$45.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.01. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is C$40.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$37.64. Cenovus Energy has a 1-year low of C$21.62 and a 1-year high of C$46.13. The stock has a market cap of C$83.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.09 and a beta of 0.16.

Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE - Get Free Report) NYSE: CVE last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported C$1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$17.43 billion for the quarter. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 21.02%. As a group, analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy will post 2.2619279 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cenovus Energy

In other Cenovus Energy news, insider Jonathan Michael Mckenzie sold 104,974 shares of Cenovus Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$43.49, for a total value of C$4,565,319.26. Following the sale, the insider owned 843,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$36,697,905.76. The trade was a 11.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider John F. Soini sold 26,223 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.92, for a total transaction of C$1,177,937.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$94,960.88. The trade was a 92.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 601,524 shares of company stock worth $25,546,211. 32.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cenovus Energy Company Profile

Cenovus Energy is an integrated oil company, focused on creating value through the development of its oil sands assets. The company also engages in production of conventional crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Alberta, Canada, with refining operations in the U.S. Net upstream production averaged 472 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2020, and the company estimates that it holds 6.7 billion boe of proven and probable reserves.

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