Smead Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)

Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 604,903 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,134 shares during the quarter. Cenovus Energy accounts for 0.2% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Cenovus Energy were worth $10,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 29,149 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,336 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Cenovus Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 22,453 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 1.1% in the third quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 57,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. 51.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cenovus Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVE traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $20.52. 5,515,715 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,504,978. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.99. The firm has a market cap of $38.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 2.15. Cenovus Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.69 and a 52 week high of $21.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 14.85% and a net margin of 7.88%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.1033 dividend. This represents a $0.41 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Cenovus Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $26.67.

Cenovus Energy Company 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.