Short Interest in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Drops By 37.3%

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,180,000 shares, a drop of 37.3% from the December 15th total of 17,820,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 7,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

Shares of CVE opened at $14.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $27.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 2.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $15.42 and its 200 day moving average is $17.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Cenovus Energy has a 12-month low of $14.20 and a 12-month high of $21.90.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $10.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cenovus Energy will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.133 dividend. 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. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 36.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 640.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,065 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position 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 purchased a new position in Cenovus Energy during the third quarter worth about $162,000. Finally, Harmony Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research report on Monday, January 6th. TD Securities lowered shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.00.

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.