Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Short Interest Update

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,520,000 shares, an increase of 23.3% from the September 30th total of 13,400,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 7,870,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Cenovus Energy Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CVE traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.68. 10,019,557 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,849,981. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.95. Cenovus Energy has a one year low of $14.69 and a one year high of $21.90. The company has a market cap of $30.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.78 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 16.61%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.132 dividend. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is 28.49%.

Institutional Trading of Cenovus Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SVB Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 19,710 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in 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 worth $170,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in Cenovus Energy by 5.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 16,347 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Cenovus Energy by 4.6% in the first quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 18,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 69,273 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Cenovus Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Cenovus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Securities cut Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cenovus Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.75.

Cenovus Energy Company Profile

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.