Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE) Lifted to Strong-Buy at TD Securities

TD Securities upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE) (NYSE:CVE) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Cenovus Energy from C$35.00 to C$34.00 in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Cenovus Energy from C$33.00 to C$29.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Desjardins upped their price target on Cenovus Energy from C$31.50 to C$33.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Cenovus Energy from C$36.00 to C$33.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, National Bankshares dropped their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from C$38.00 to C$31.00 in a report on Friday, September 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of C$32.77.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CVE stock opened at C$24.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$46.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.88, a PEG ratio of 0.09 and a beta of 2.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$24.48 and a 200 day moving average of C$26.42. Cenovus Energy has a 52 week low of C$19.82 and a 52 week high of C$29.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.34.

Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE) (NYSE:CVE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.72 by C($0.19). The company had revenue of C$14.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$13.44 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 16.69% and a net margin of 8.54%. As a group, research analysts expect that Cenovus Energy will post 2.0660125 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is 28.69%.

Insider Activity at Cenovus Energy

In other news, Senior Officer Geoffrey Murray bought 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$22.54 per share, with a total value of C$72,112.00. In other Cenovus Energy news, Senior Officer Jeffery George Lawson purchased 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$21.92 per share, with a total value of C$197,280.00. Also, Senior Officer Geoffrey Murray acquired 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$22.54 per share, for a total transaction of C$72,112.00. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 152,200 shares of company stock valued at $3,459,477. 32.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.