CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• CVR Energy shares reached a new 52-week high of $58.92, substantially above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $43.92 and $36.18, respectively.
• Despite some recent upgrades, analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $35, well below its current trading level.
• CVR Energy exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.34 in EPS versus $0.26 expected and $2.74 billion in revenue, up 55.5% year over year. The company also pays a $0.10 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 0.7%.

CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $58.92 and last traded at $57.3380, with a volume of 623318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CVI. Wall Street Zen upgraded CVR Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on CVR Energy from $35.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded CVR Energy from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Zacks Research raised CVR Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on CVR Energy from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $35.00.

CVR Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.32 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.18.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.08. CVR Energy had a negative return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 0.81%.The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. CVR Energy's revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that CVR Energy Inc. will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

CVR Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. CVR Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.82%.

Institutional Trading of CVR Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in CVR Energy by 20.7% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 110,723 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,646,000 after buying an additional 18,966 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of CVR Energy by 5,362.5% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,311 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of CVR Energy by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,153,498 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $59,315,000 after acquiring an additional 213,829 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in shares of CVR Energy by 357.8% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 164,204 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,522,000 after acquiring an additional 128,339 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of CVR Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $903,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.88% of the company's stock.

CVR Energy Company Profile

CVR Energy, Inc is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in petroleum refining and nitrogen fertilizer production. Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, the company operates through subsidiaries that serve customers in the United States, with activities concentrated in the Midcontinent region.

Through its refining operations, CVR Energy processes crude oil into transportation fuels and other refined products, including gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and asphalt. Its refineries are located in Coffeyville, Kansas, and Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and are supported by related logistics, storage and transportation assets.

CVR Energy also owns and operates nitrogen fertilizer facilities through CVR Partners, LP.

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