CVR Energy Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CVI)

CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 2,181 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 240% compared to the average daily volume of 642 call options.

CVR Energy Price Performance

Shares of CVR Energy stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.19. The company had a trading volume of 167,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,377,934. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.12. CVR Energy has a 1-year low of $15.10 and a 1-year high of $41.67. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.58 and a beta of 1.12.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.84) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. CVR Energy had a negative return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 0.38%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CVR Energy will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

CVR Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. CVR Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 569.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CVR Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded CVR Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CVR Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $29.25.

Insider Transactions at CVR Energy

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn purchased 275,012 shares of CVR Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.41 per share, for a total transaction of $5,888,006.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,201,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,524,432,143.75. This represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 783,404 shares of company stock worth $16,445,044. Company insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CVR Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in CVR Energy by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,081 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CVR Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,329 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in CVR Energy by 0.7% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 85,083 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,104,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in CVR Energy by 1.5% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 48,943 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,785,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CVR Energy by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,394 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. 98.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CVR Energy

CVR Energy, Inc is an independent downstream energy company engaged primarily in petroleum refining and nitrogen fertilizer production in the United States. Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, CVR Energy operates through two reportable segments—Petroleum Products and Nitrogen Fertilizers—leveraging its refining expertise and distribution network to serve both wholesale and retail markets across key regions in the U.S.

In its Petroleum Products segment, the company owns and operates the Coffeyville, Kansas refinery, which has the capability to process various grades of crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products.