Three key updates for Successful investors: Cenovus Energy Inc., Maple Leaf Foods Inc. and SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.

Article Excerpt

CENOVUS ENERGY INC. $5.15 remains a buy for patient investors. The company (Toronto symbol CVE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $6.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend suspended in March 2020; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.cenovus.com) owns 100% of the Christina Lake and Foster Creek oil sands properties in Alberta. You also gain exposure to its 50% of an oil refinery in Illinois and one in Texas. Phillips 66 (New York symbol PSX) holds the other 50% of those properties. The stock is down 65% since the start of 2020—the COVID-19 lockdowns have cut crude oil demand and prices. In response, Cenovus cut this year’s capital spending by $150 million, to between $750 million and $850 million. It also reduced its production costs per barrel by 22.8%, to $7.00 (Canadian) in the second quarter of 2020 from $9.07 a year earlier. Those lower costs will help the company cope with the crisis, particularly as Western Canadian Select has rebounded from…