CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• CVR Energy's stock reached a new 12-month high, trading at $33.36, with a recent closing price of $33.17 and a significant trading volume of 2.8 million shares.
• Analyst ratings indicate a consensus of "Strong Sell" with price targets ranging from $21.00 to $29.00, suggesting skepticism about the stock's growth potential.
• For the last quarter, CVR Energy reported an EPS of ($0.23), missing expectations and reflecting a decline in revenue of 10.5% compared to the previous year.

CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The company traded as high as $33.36 and last traded at $33.17, with a volume of 2837817 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.47.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CVI. Raymond James Financial downgraded CVR Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of CVR Energy in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on CVR Energy from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "sector underperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVR Energy has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and an average target price of $23.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVR Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in CVR Energy by 7.4% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 116,358 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,124,000 after buying an additional 8,001 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in CVR Energy by 13.7% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 34,495 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 4,145 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in CVR Energy by 432.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,846 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 5,560 shares during the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in CVR Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in CVR Energy by 48.0% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,633 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.88% of the company's stock.

CVR Energy Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.63. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of -10.30 and a beta of 1.32.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.15). CVR Energy had a negative return on equity of 18.11% and a negative net margin of 4.63%.The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CVR Energy Inc. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About CVR Energy

CVR Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the petroleum refining and marketing, and nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing activities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Petroleum and Nitrogen Fertilizer. The Petroleum segment refines and supplies gasoline, crude oil, distillate, diesel fuel, and other refined products.