Capital Research Global Investors Trims Holdings in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)

Capital Research Global Investors reduced its position in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,436,457 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 20,029,013 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 1.34% of Cenovus Energy worth $370,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 191,412,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,901,131,000 after acquiring an additional 26,127,617 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,001,002 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $196,935,000 after purchasing an additional 4,220,663 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 727,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,024,000 after purchasing an additional 187,087 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 741,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,232,000 after buying an additional 49,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 53,572,829 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $811,769,000 after buying an additional 382,519 shares in the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised Cenovus Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. National Bank Financial downgraded Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.00.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVE opened at $12.12 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.23 and a 12 month high of $21.58. The company has a market capitalization of $22.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.28 and its 200 day moving average is $14.86.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.08 billion. Research analysts predict that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.1269 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.50%.

Cenovus Energy 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.