CVE’s debt is manageable

Article Excerpt

CENOVUS ENERGY $11.52 (Toronto symbol CVE; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $14.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.7%; www.cenovus.com) acquired 100% of its main Alberta oil sands properties—Christina Lake and Foster Creek—in May 2017. It paid ConocoPhillips (New York symbol COP) $17.7 billion in cash and stock for that firm’s 50% stake. Cenovus produced 443,318 barrels (84% oil, 16% gas) in the second quarter of 2019. That’s down 14.5% from 518,530 barrels a year earlier. The drop is partly due to planned maintenance at the Christina Lake oil sands project. Meanwhile, thanks to higher crude prices, cash flow per share jumped 39.7%, to $0.88 from $0.63 a year earlier. The company continues to use its strong cash flow to pay down debt, which now stands at $6.5 billion. That’s already down 23.4% since the end of 2018, and while it’s still high, it represents a manageable 46% of market cap. Cenovus Energy is a buy. buy…