CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded CVR Energy to “strong-buy” from “buy,” but broader analyst sentiment remains negative, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $45.75.
• CVR Energy opened at $58.01, near its 52-week high of $61.09, after reporting quarterly EPS of $0.34—beating estimates—and revenue of $2.74 billion, up 55.5% year over year.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 98.88%, with BlackRock, PDT Partners and other major funds recently acquiring or increasing positions in the company.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CVI. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of CVR Energy from $35.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of CVR Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of CVR Energy from $29.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of CVR Energy from $36.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded CVR Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVR Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $45.75.

CVR Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CVI opened at $58.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.30 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's 50 day moving average is $44.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.51. CVR Energy has a fifty-two week low of $19.62 and a fifty-two week high of $61.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. CVR Energy had a net margin of 0.81% and a negative return on equity of 15.21%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. Analysts expect that CVR Energy will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CVR Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $143,262,000. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVR Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $14,502,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in CVR Energy by 16.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,908,062 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $64,220,000 after purchasing an additional 265,013 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in CVR Energy by 687.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 263,448 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,865,000 after purchasing an additional 229,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in CVR Energy by 11.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,153,498 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $59,315,000 after purchasing an additional 213,829 shares during the period. 98.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CVR Energy

CVR Energy, Inc is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in petroleum refining and nitrogen fertilizer production. Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, the company operates through subsidiaries that serve customers in the United States, with activities concentrated in the Midcontinent region.

Through its refining operations, CVR Energy processes crude oil into transportation fuels and other refined products, including gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and asphalt. Its refineries are located in Coffeyville, Kansas, and Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and are supported by related logistics, storage and transportation assets.

CVR Energy also owns and operates nitrogen fertilizer facilities through CVR Partners, LP.

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