Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) by 46.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 6,300 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Cenovus Energy were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CVE. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Cenovus Energy by 640.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,065 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Cenovus Energy by 8.0% in the 2nd 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. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Cenovus Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Everpar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cenovus Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, FCG Investment Co acquired a new stake in shares of Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $211,000. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

Shares of CVE opened at $15.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.75 and a 200-day moving average of $18.51. Cenovus Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.69 and a twelve month high of $21.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 2.05.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.25 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company’s revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.133 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. This is a positive change from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVE. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Cenovus Energy from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cenovus Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.00.

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.