Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Short Interest Update

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,200,000 shares, a growth of 12.2% from the March 31st total of 29,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CVE traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $20.34. 16,960,415 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,297,514. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 2.15. Cenovus Energy has a 52-week low of $14.69 and a 52-week high of $21.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company's 50 day moving average price is $19.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.04.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.04. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.1033 per share. This represents a $0.41 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from Cenovus Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Cenovus Energy's payout ratio is presently 25.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CVE. UBS Group raised shares of Cenovus Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Cenovus Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Institutional Trading of Cenovus Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVE. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new stake in Cenovus Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 80.3% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,453 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cenovus Energy Company 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.

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