Investors Purchase High Volume of CVR Energy Put Options (NYSE:CVI)

CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 8,885 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,443% compared to the typical daily volume of 576 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CVI. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of CVR Energy from $33.75 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on CVR Energy from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on CVR Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Mizuho began coverage on shares of CVR Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of CVR Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVR Energy by 156.2% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 32,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 19,675 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of CVR Energy by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 36,562 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $979,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVR Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $2,889,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CVR Energy by 223.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 53,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 36,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVR Energy by 10.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 131,502 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 12,750 shares during the period. 98.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVR Energy Stock Performance

NYSE CVI opened at $22.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.93. CVR Energy has a 1-year low of $22.63 and a 1-year high of $38.07. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.47.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. CVR Energy had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 25.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CVR Energy will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVR Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.81%. CVR Energy’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

CVR Energy Company Profile

CVR Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the petroleum refining and marketing, and nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing activities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Petroleum and Nitrogen Fertilizer. The Petroleum segment refines and supplies gasoline, crude oil, distillate, diesel fuel, and other refined products.