Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Cenovus Energy (CVE) from a "hold" to a "strong-buy", joining other firms that rate the stock as Buy/Strong Buy and contributing to a consensus target of about $29.67.
• Cenovus beat EPS expectations this quarter with $0.36 vs. $0.28 estimated (up from $0.07 a year earlier) but missed on revenue ($9.44B vs. $10.89B); the company has a market cap near $49.6 billion and a P/E of ~17.3.
• Institutional investors own roughly 51% of CVE, and several large funds (including Canoe Financial, Ninepoint, and Massachusetts Financial Services) significantly increased their stakes recently.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CVE. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank raised shares of Cenovus Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.67.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

CVE stock opened at $26.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $49.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.57. Cenovus Energy has a 1 year low of $11.60 and a 1 year high of $27.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.10.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.89 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 13.25% and a net margin of 7.92%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Cenovus Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVE. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 484,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,216,000 after purchasing an additional 109,000 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $102,662,000. Ninepoint Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 490.0% during the third quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 3,540,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $60,145,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940,000 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Cenovus Energy by 69.6% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,655,878 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $62,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,935,599 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $303,470,000 after buying an additional 3,507,525 shares during the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy Inc is a Canadian integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas, together with downstream refining and marketing activities. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Cenovus operates a mix of oil sands thermal and dilbit assets, conventional oil and gas properties, and owns refining and midstream assets designed to move and process hydrocarbons into finished petroleum products for commercial markets.

The company was originally formed as a spin‑off from Encana Corporation in 2009 and has grown through organic development and strategic acquisitions.

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