Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Cenovus Energy Inc $CVE

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 63,525,477 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,197,843 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Cenovus Energy were worth $1,074,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CVE. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Cenovus Energy by 291.3% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 106,582,971 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,809,758,000 after purchasing an additional 79,345,506 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Cenovus Energy by 322.7% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 15,521,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $211,338,000 after purchasing an additional 11,849,355 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Cenovus Energy by 46.7% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,643,806 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $520,196,000 after purchasing an additional 9,753,134 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Cenovus Energy by 494.2% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 11,442,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $194,493,000 after purchasing an additional 9,516,460 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in Cenovus Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $102,662,000. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cenovus Energy Stock Up 0.2%

CVE stock opened at $29.30 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $24.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.57. Cenovus Energy Inc has a fifty-two week low of $11.60 and a fifty-two week high of $29.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 0.37.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.08. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 13.25%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cenovus Energy Inc will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Cenovus Energy from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Veritas upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.67.

Cenovus Energy Profile

Cenovus Energy Inc is a Canadian integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas, together with downstream refining and marketing activities. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Cenovus operates a mix of oil sands thermal and dilbit assets, conventional oil and gas properties, and owns refining and midstream assets designed to move and process hydrocarbons into finished petroleum products for commercial markets.

The company was originally formed as a spin‑off from Encana Corporation in 2009 and has grown through organic development and strategic acquisitions.