Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE)

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 25,308 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 340% compared to the average daily volume of 5,747 call options.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CVE opened at $12.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 1.99. Cenovus Energy has a 1-year low of $12.07 and a 1-year high of $21.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $14.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.08 billion. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 5.82%. Equities analysts anticipate that Cenovus Energy will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.1269 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cenovus Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 104.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,742 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis acquired a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $98,000. Institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CVE. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price 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 cut shares of Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.25.

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.