Short Interest in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Expands By 6.9%

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,240,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the August 15th total of 12,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CVE. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Cenovus Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Raymond James upgraded Cenovus Energy to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.67.

Institutional Trading of Cenovus Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 71.4% in the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 124.2% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,558 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 17.6% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

Shares of CVE traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.63. 8,617,301 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,053,849. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $18.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.45. The company has a market cap of $30.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Cenovus Energy has a 1 year low of $14.69 and a 1 year high of $21.90.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.13). Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.78 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.132 dividend. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.44%.

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.