Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 401,816 Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE - Free Report) TSE: CVE by 93.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,965 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 401,816 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Cenovus Energy were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,742 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in Cenovus Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Bank of Stockton grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 14,796 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 1,902 shares in the last quarter. Panview Capital Ltd bought a new position in Cenovus Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $16,741,000. Finally, DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 222,071 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,123,000 after purchasing an additional 4,160 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVE has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Cenovus Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank upgraded Cenovus Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Friday, April 11th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CVE traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $13.94. 19,615,950 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,651,618. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.46. The company has a market cap of $25.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.94. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $13.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.83. Cenovus Energy Inc has a 1-year low of $10.23 and a 1-year high of $20.76.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $11.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.39 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 5.22% and a return on equity of 9.56%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cenovus Energy Inc will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from Cenovus Energy's previous dividend of $0.11. This represents a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.21%.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, refines, transports, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products in Canada and internationally. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, Offshore, Canadian Refining, and U.S. Refining segments.