Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Position in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,116,002 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 163,732 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.12% of Cenovus Energy worth $38,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CVE. Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Cenovus Energy by 39.3% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,416,146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $257,831,000 after buying an additional 4,351,960 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Cenovus Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,472,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cenovus Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,569,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Cenovus Energy by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,284,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $21,491,000 after acquiring an additional 393,100 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cenovus Energy by 11.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,653,192 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $61,163,000 after purchasing an additional 369,021 shares in the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CVE. TD Securities cut shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Cenovus Energy from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Cenovus Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.00.

Cenovus Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

CVE opened at $14.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 2.02. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Cenovus Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.55 and a 52 week high of $21.90.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Cenovus Energy had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 6.72%. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.133 per share. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a boost from Cenovus Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Cenovus Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.55%.

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.