Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE) Raised to Outperform at National Bankshares

Key Points

• Cenovus Energy was upgraded to an "outperform" rating by National Bankshares, with a new price target of C$28.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.90% from its previous close.
• Analysts from Jefferies Financial Group, Royal Bank of Canada, and Raymond James have also raised their price targets for Cenovus Energy, reflecting positive sentiment towards the stock.
• Insiders have sold a significant amount of shares recently, totaling over 4.2 million shares in the past ninety days, while corporate insiders currently own 32.03% of the stock.

National Bankshares upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE - Free Report) NYSE: CVE from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have C$28.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of C$24.00.

CVE has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from C$25.00 to C$26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from C$24.00 to C$25.00 in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Veritas downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from C$27.00 to C$27.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from C$25.00 to C$26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of C$27.70.

Cenovus Energy Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of CVE traded down C$0.50 on Monday, reaching C$22.84. 11,346,638 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,328,622. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.59. The stock has a market capitalization of C$41.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.09 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$20.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$19.19. Cenovus Energy has a 12 month low of C$14.48 and a 12 month high of C$25.68.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Cenovus Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cenovus Energy

In other news, insider Hutchison Whampoa Europe Investments S.à r.l. sold 2,438,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$20.03, for a total value of C$48,849,820.34. Insiders have sold a total of 4,281,552 shares of company stock valued at $84,922,463 in the last ninety days. 32.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Cenovus Energy

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.