Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Short Interest Down 18.1% in March

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 28,290,000 shares, a decline of 18.1% from the February 29th total of 34,560,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 11,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on CVE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Cenovus Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.67.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Cenovus Energy stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.99. 5,328,693 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,268,539. The stock's fifty day moving average is $17.45 and its 200 day moving average is $17.94. The stock has a market cap of $37.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.56. Cenovus Energy has a 12 month low of $14.69 and a 12 month high of $21.37.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $9.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 14.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cenovus Energy will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.1033 dividend. This represents a $0.41 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Cenovus Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Cenovus Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVE. Financial Perspectives Inc bought a new position in Cenovus Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Cenovus Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,305 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 51.19% of the company's stock.

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.