Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Purchases 726,953 Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE)

Key Points

• Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc by 14.6%, now owning 5,713,129 shares worth approximately $79.39 million, making it the firm's 22nd largest holding.
• Several institutional investors, including Mackenzie Financial Corp and LPL Financial LLC, also significantly raised their positions in Cenovus Energy, indicating strong interest in the company.
• Cenovus Energy recently increased its dividend from $0.11 to $0.20 per share, which represents a dividend yield of 4.25%, while also reporting a quarterly earnings beat of $0.32 per share.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE - Free Report) TSE: CVE by 14.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,713,129 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 726,953 shares during the period. Cenovus Energy makes up 1.7% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned 0.31% of Cenovus Energy worth $79,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 1,165.1% during the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,808 shares in the last quarter. Natixis acquired a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000. Clarius Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $150,000. Finally, Black Maple Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $167,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Veritas lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Cenovus Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

NYSE:CVE traded up $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $15.24. The company had a trading volume of 20,899,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,981,506. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.70. Cenovus Energy Inc has a 52 week low of $10.23 and a 52 week high of $20.40.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. The business 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cenovus Energy Inc will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This is an increase from Cenovus Energy's previous dividend of $0.11. This represents a dividend yield of 425.0%. Cenovus Energy's payout ratio is 54.21%.

Cenovus Energy 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.