Traders Buy Large Volume of Cenovus Energy Call Options (NYSE:CVE)

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 25,308 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 340% compared to the average volume of 5,747 call options.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE CVE traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.28. 10,589,680 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,047,904. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Cenovus Energy has a twelve month low of $12.07 and a twelve month high of $21.90. The company has a market cap of $22.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 1.99.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.08 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 10.73%. Research analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.1269 dividend. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 79.8% during the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 125,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after buying an additional 55,780 shares in the last quarter. Challenger Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,446,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $188,467,000 after purchasing an additional 117,568 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 241,113 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,653,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in Cenovus Energy by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 18,717 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 6,786 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CVE shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.25.

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.