Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE - Free Report) TSE: CVE by 377.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 61,388 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 48,537 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Cenovus Energy were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CVE. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,649,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,835 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 3,827 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 69,627 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 17,529 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 660,676 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $10,015,000 after buying an additional 41,361 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Canada LTD. lifted its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 1,952,419 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $29,577,000 after buying an additional 799,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 51.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on CVE shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Cenovus Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Friday, April 11th. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Veritas lowered Cenovus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.00.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

CVE traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $14.48. 10,197,813 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,805,348. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $13.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Cenovus Energy Inc has a 1-year low of $10.23 and a 1-year high of $20.40.

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

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a yield of 4.25%. This is a positive change from Cenovus Energy's previous dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.