Short Interest in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Decreases By 37.3%

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) saw a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,180,000 shares, a decrease of 37.3% from the December 15th total of 17,820,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CVE traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $14.96. The stock had a trading volume of 5,332,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,576,211. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.14. The stock has a market cap of $27.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 2.01. Cenovus Energy has a 52-week low of $14.20 and a 52-week high of $21.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.25 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.133 dividend. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is 35.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVE has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Securities cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Cenovus Energy from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cenovus Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Institutional Trading of Cenovus Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 12,538,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $246,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,613,320 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 2,236.1% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,610,779 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $90,608,000 after acquiring an additional 4,413,405 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 39.3% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,416,146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $257,831,000 after acquiring an additional 4,351,960 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 4,319.1% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,218,376 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,609,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,995,000. 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.