Short Interest in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Drops By 9.0%

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,040,000 shares, a decline of 9.0% from the October 15th total of 16,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,870,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVE. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Cenovus Energy by 640.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,065 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 8.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $162,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Cenovus Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $205,000. 51.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CVE shares. StockNews.com upgraded Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. TD Securities cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Cenovus Energy from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cenovus Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.00.

Cenovus Energy Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of CVE stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $15.99. 7,143,656 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,869,408. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 2.05. Cenovus Energy has a one year low of $14.69 and a one year high of $21.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.133 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.55%.

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.