Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE) Shares Down 9.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSE:CVE) (NYSE:CVE) shares dropped 9.6% on Thursday after CIBC lowered their price target on the stock from C$32.00 to C$28.00. The stock traded as low as C$15.06 and last traded at C$15.30. Approximately 3,767,845 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 6,016,282 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$16.92.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Cenovus Energy from C$32.00 to C$30.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank raised shares of Cenovus Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. National Bankshares cut Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from C$28.00 to C$25.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Cenovus Energy from C$29.00 to C$28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$29.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, Senior Officer Karamjit Singh Sandhar purchased 5,000 shares of Cenovus Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$20.05 per share, with a total value of C$100,250.00. Also, Senior Officer John F. Soini acquired 4,104 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$19.48 per share, with a total value of C$79,945.92. Insiders bought a total of 31,934 shares of company stock valued at $619,586 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 32.03% of the company’s stock.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$28.23 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.09 and a beta of 2.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is C$19.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$21.34.

Cenovus Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.49%.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy is an integrated oil company, focused on creating value through the development of its oil sands assets. The company also engages in production of conventional crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Alberta, Canada, with refining operations in the U.S. Net upstream production averaged 472 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2020, and the company estimates that it holds 6.7 billion boe of proven and probable reserves.