Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Shares Bought by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) by 56.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 219,683 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 78,981 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Cenovus Energy were worth $3,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 104.9% in the fourth 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 period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,742 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SevenBridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

CVE stock opened at $14.06 on Friday. Cenovus Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.08 and a 1 year high of $21.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.56.

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

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.1269 per share. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is currently 40.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Cenovus Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com cut Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 28th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.25.

About Cenovus Energy

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.