CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares gapped down — CVR Energy opened at $32.11 versus a prior close of $33.82 and was trading around $32.69, down roughly 4.2% on the session.
• Analyst sentiment is negative: one analyst rates the stock a Hold and five rate it a Sell, giving an average rating of "Strong Sell" and an average price target of $30.00.
• Carl Icahn bought 275,012 shares at about $21.41, modestly increasing his stake, and the company pays a $0.37 quarterly dividend (about a 4.6% yield).

CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $33.82, but opened at $32.11. CVR Energy shares last traded at $32.6890, with a volume of 232,546 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on CVI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CVR Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of CVR Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of CVR Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on CVR Energy from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and an average price target of $30.00.

CVR Energy Stock Down 4.2%

The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 123.61 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.84) by $0.04. CVR Energy had a negative return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 0.38%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. The firm's revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CVR Energy Inc. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVR Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn bought 275,012 shares of CVR Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.41 per share, with a total value of $5,888,006.92. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 71,201,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,524,432,143.75. This represents a 0.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 783,404 shares of company stock worth $16,445,044. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVR Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of CVR Energy by 21,261.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 776,073 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $28,311,000 after purchasing an additional 772,440 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in CVR Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $22,217,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in CVR Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $9,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in CVR Energy by 101.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 706,504 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $25,773,000 after buying an additional 355,412 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in CVR Energy by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,364,250 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $49,768,000 after buying an additional 345,758 shares during the period. 98.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVR Energy Company Profile

CVR Energy, Inc is an independent downstream energy company engaged primarily in petroleum refining and nitrogen fertilizer production in the United States. Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, CVR Energy operates through two reportable segments—Petroleum Products and Nitrogen Fertilizers—leveraging its refining expertise and distribution network to serve both wholesale and retail markets across key regions in the U.S.

In its Petroleum Products segment, the company owns and operates the Coffeyville, Kansas refinery, which has the capability to process various grades of crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.