Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Cuts Holdings in Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board has reduced its stake in Cenovus Energy by 12.5%, selling 70,935 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• Several brokerages have issued mixed ratings on Cenovus Energy, with the stock currently holding a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $23.33.
• Cenovus Energy recently declared an increased dividend of $0.20 per share, up from $0.11, indicating a strong yield of 425.0%.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its position in Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE - Free Report) TSE: CVE by 12.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 497,763 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 70,935 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Cenovus Energy were worth $6,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CVE. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,901,131,000 after acquiring an additional 26,127,617 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 56.5% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,481,233 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $270,742,000 after acquiring an additional 7,035,004 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 8.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,483,601 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $757,213,000 after acquiring an additional 4,401,045 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 48.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 91.7% in the fourth 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. 51.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Veritas cut Cenovus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Cenovus Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Cenovus Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cenovus Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.33.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:CVE traded down $0.29 on Monday, hitting $14.59. 4,335,906 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,931,703. The firm's 50-day moving average is $14.29 and its 200 day moving average is $13.68. The company has a market capitalization of $26.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 0.97. Cenovus Energy Inc has a 1-year low of $10.23 and a 1-year high of $20.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Cenovus Energy Inc will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 425.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This is an increase from Cenovus Energy's previous dividend of $0.11. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.43%.

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.