Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 12,968,035 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 11,718,900 shares.The stock last traded at $13.14 and had previously closed at $13.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVE has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Cenovus Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cenovus Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.25.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.76. The stock has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 1.99.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.08 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 10.73%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.1269 per share. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.50%.

Institutional Trading of Cenovus Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CVE. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the third quarter worth $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 104.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Cenovus Energy by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,742 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis bought a new stake in Cenovus Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $98,000. 51.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.