Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE) Shares Purchased by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd significantly increased its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc by purchasing an additional 163,312 shares, bringing its total holdings to 283,569 shares valued at approximately $3.9 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Capital World Investors and Toronto Dominion Bank, have also increased their stakes in Cenovus Energy, reflecting a growing institutional interest in the company.
• Cenovus Energy recently declared a dividend of $0.20 per share, increasing its yield to 4.25%, up from the previous dividend of $0.11, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE - Free Report) TSE: CVE by 135.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 283,569 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 163,312 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Cenovus Energy were worth $3,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors increased its position in Cenovus Energy by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 191,412,590 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,901,131,000 after buying an additional 26,127,617 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,001,002 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $196,935,000 after acquiring an additional 4,220,663 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 91.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,460,311 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,030,017 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $111,698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,803,862 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,337,551 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221,549 shares during the period. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cenovus Energy Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE CVE traded up $0.13 on Thursday, hitting $15.20. The stock had a trading volume of 11,303,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,894,567. The business's fifty day moving average price is $14.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Cenovus Energy Inc has a 52-week low of $10.23 and a 52-week high of $20.40. The stock has a market cap of $27.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.25%. This is an increase from Cenovus Energy's previous dividend of $0.11. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio is 54.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Veritas downgraded Cenovus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Cenovus Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.00.

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.