Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 174,063 Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc $CVE

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Cenovus Energy by 25.7%, selling 174,063 shares and retaining 504,329 shares valued at approximately $7 million at the end of the most recent reporting period.
• Cenovus Energy recently declared a dividend of $0.20 per share, which is a significant increase from the previous dividend of $0.11, resulting in a dividend yield of 425.0%.
• The company exceeded earnings expectations by reporting $0.33 EPS for the most recent quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.14.

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its position in shares of Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE - Free Report) TSE: CVE by 25.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 504,329 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 174,063 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Cenovus Energy were worth $7,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CVE. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 91.7% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 7,233,491 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $109,515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460,311 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 56.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,481,233 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $270,742,000 after purchasing an additional 7,035,004 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its stake in Cenovus Energy by 79.8% during the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 125,637 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 55,780 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 185.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 48,103 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 31,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lloyd Harbor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy in the fourth quarter worth $9,090,000. 51.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 1.8%

Cenovus Energy stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.64. 13,377,260 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,715,070. Cenovus Energy Inc has a 1-year low of $10.23 and a 1-year high of $19.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.76. The stock has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.19. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 9.06% and a net margin of 5.18%.The business had revenue of $10.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cenovus Energy Inc will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVE. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Monday, August 25th. National Bankshares upgraded Cenovus Energy from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Veritas downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.33.

Cenovus Energy Company Profile

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.