CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) Trading 4.6% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• CVR Energy's stock rose 4.6% on Tuesday, reaching a last traded price of $31.88, despite a significant decline in trading volume.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings, with some downgrading the stock to "underperform" and others increasing price targets; the average rating is currently "Strong Sell."
• The company's recent earnings report revealed a loss of ($0.23) per share, missing estimates, while revenues of $1.76 billion were slightly above expectations but down 10.5% year-over-year.

CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 4.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as high as $31.73 and last traded at $31.88. 137,553 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,223,786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.47.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of CVR Energy from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "sector underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of CVR Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $29.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of CVR Energy in a research report on Monday, September 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CVR Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and an average price target of $23.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVR Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CVI. Amanah Holdings Trust acquired a new stake in shares of CVR Energy in the second quarter worth $17,996,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in CVR Energy by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 750,195 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $14,059,000 after buying an additional 269,763 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in CVR Energy by 1,203.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 286,100 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,362,000 after buying an additional 264,143 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CVR Energy by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 587,300 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $11,394,000 after buying an additional 123,510 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in CVR Energy by 50.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 351,092 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $9,427,000 after buying an additional 117,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.88% of the company's stock.

CVR Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.30 and a beta of 1.32. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $29.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.58.

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