Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,356,673 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 54,026 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Cenovus Energy were worth $35,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Cenovus Energy by 65.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,567 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 10,554 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 184.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 568,338 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,508,000 after acquiring an additional 368,885 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP grew its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 61.4% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 55,453 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 21,090 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Cenovus Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $11,569,000. Finally, Harmony Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Cenovus Energy by 8.1% during the third quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 13,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.19% of the company’s stock.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

CVE stock opened at $14.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.99. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.08 and a 1 year high of $21.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.38.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.27). Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 10.73%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.08 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.1269 per share. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. National Bank Financial lowered Cenovus Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank raised shares of Cenovus Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cenovus Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

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.