Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,321 Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,321 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cenovus Energy were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Cenovus Energy by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,632 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the third quarter worth $408,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 3.2% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 40,194 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,413,919 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $109,232,000 after buying an additional 568,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $783,000. 51.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CVE shares. StockNews.com cut Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 28th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Cenovus Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CVE opened at $15.34 on Monday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $15.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 2.02. Cenovus Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.20 and a 1-year high of $21.90.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.133 dividend. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. 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.