Short Interest in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Rises By 23.3%

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,520,000 shares, an increase of 23.3% from the September 30th total of 13,400,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 7,870,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Cenovus Energy Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Cenovus Energy stock traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, reaching $16.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,019,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,849,981. The company has a market capitalization of $30.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 2.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.93. Cenovus Energy has a 52 week low of $14.69 and a 52 week high of $21.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.13). Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 8.56%. The business had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.78 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Cenovus Energy will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.132 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is presently 28.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CVE shares. StockNews.com upgraded Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Cenovus Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Cenovus Energy from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Securities cut Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LVW Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $240,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 314,445 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,507,000 after acquiring an additional 30,715 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $729,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 3,330.2% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 768,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,363,000 after acquiring an additional 746,122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

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.