Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Cenovus Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Veritas lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

CVE stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.71. The company had a trading volume of 13,819,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,956,540. The company has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 0.94. Cenovus Energy has a twelve month low of $10.23 and a twelve month high of $20.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.83.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 5.22%. The firm had revenue of $11.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This is a boost from Cenovus Energy's previous dividend of $0.11. This represents a dividend yield of 4.25%. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 191,412,590 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,901,131,000 after buying an additional 26,127,617 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 8.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,483,601 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $757,213,000 after purchasing an additional 4,401,045 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 53,572,829 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $811,769,000 after purchasing an additional 382,519 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 56.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,481,233 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $270,742,000 after purchasing an additional 7,035,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 33.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,363,386 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $241,513,000 after acquiring an additional 4,362,384 shares during the last quarter. 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.