Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in Cenovus Energy Inc $CVE

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 4.17 million Cenovus Energy shares worth approximately $103.5 million, giving it a 0.23% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 51.19% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with one Strong Buy, 13 Buy and two Hold ratings; Cenovus has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $36.25.
• Cenovus reported quarterly earnings of $1.11 per share, matching estimates, while revenue rose 47.9% year over year to $14.59 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing a 2.8% annualized yield.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE - Free Report) TSE: CVE during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,173,330 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $103,513,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.23% of Cenovus Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 124,313,513 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,103,090,000 after buying an additional 17,730,542 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Cenovus Energy by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,525,477 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,074,660,000 after buying an additional 7,197,843 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 50,979,140 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $862,505,000 after buying an additional 1,903,432 shares during the period. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 38,533,059 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $651,880,000 after buying an additional 11,019,212 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 111.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,770,723 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $604,107,000 after buying an additional 11,990,405 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Cenovus Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Lake Street Capital set a $36.00 price target on Cenovus Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.25.

Cenovus Energy Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of CVE opened at $31.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.34. Cenovus Energy Inc has a 1 year low of $15.63 and a 1 year high of $33.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $28.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.83.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11. The firm had revenue of $14.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.87 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 47.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy Inc will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio is 24.62%.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy Inc is a Canadian integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas, together with downstream refining and marketing activities. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Cenovus operates a mix of oil sands thermal and dilbit assets, conventional oil and gas properties, and owns refining and midstream assets designed to move and process hydrocarbons into finished petroleum products for commercial markets.

The company was originally formed as a spin‑off from Encana Corporation in 2009 and has grown through organic development and strategic acquisitions.

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