Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy by 152.1% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 321,802 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,358,000 after purchasing an additional 194,151 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Cenovus Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $1,482,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cenovus Energy during the second quarter worth about $2,946,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,191,779 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $706,503,000 after purchasing an additional 8,841,374 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 35,767 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 10,200 shares in the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CVE shares. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Cenovus Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Cenovus Energy to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.67.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

NYSE CVE opened at $16.46 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.75 and its 200-day moving average is $19.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $30.61 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 2.05. Cenovus Energy has a 12-month low of $14.69 and a 12-month high of $21.90.

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

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.132 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.