Updates on ENCANA CORP. and CENOVUS ENERGY

Article Excerpt

ENCANA CORP $32.07 (Toronto symbol ECA; Shares outstanding: 735.3 million; Market cap: $23.6 billion; SI Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.5%) earned $81 million, or $0.11 a share, in the three months ended June 30, 2010 (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). The latest earnings were down 82.8% from the company’s year-earlier earnings of $472 million, or $0.63 a share. Cash flow per share fell 13.2%, to $1.65 from $1.90. Revenue rose 10.2%, to $1.5 billion from $1.3 billion. Depressed natural gas prices were the main reason for the lower earnings and cash flow. That decline offset a 7.9% rise in the company’s total production. For the second half of 2010, Encana has locked in prices for 55% of its expected gas production at $6.05 per thousand cubic feet. That’s 33.0% higher than the current spot price of $4.55. Despite the recent weakness in gas prices, the company still plans to double its natural-gas production over the next five years. To that…