Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,890,000 shares, a decline of 13.1% from the January 31st total of 14,830,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 9,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Cenovus Energy Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CVE opened at $13.10 on Friday. Cenovus Energy has a 12-month low of $12.07 and a 12-month high of $21.90. The company has a market cap of $23.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.80 and a 200 day moving average of $15.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

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

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.1269 per share. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 241,113 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,653,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 106,532 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 104.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 16,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montgomery Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Montgomery Investment Management Inc. now owns 56,535 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the period. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.