encana

Activist investors have an uneven record when it comes to boosting shareholder value. It’s why we independently assess all companies—including those targeted by activists—before recommending them to our readers. In the case of Corteva and Ovintiv, we feel the participation of activists will ultimately pay off for investors.


CORTEVA INC....

We continue to recommend you maintain some exposure to oil stocks as part of the Resources portion of your overall portfolio. The four oil producers we analyze below still have substantial reserves; they’re also doing a good job of cutting their costs. That puts them in a strong position to increase profits as the global economy recovers from COVID-19.


SUNCOR ENERGY INC....

OVINTIV INC., $10.89, is a buy. The energy producer (Toronto symbol OVV; Shares outstanding: 259.9 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 4.5%) became a U.S. company earlier this year and changed its name from Encana Corp.


Ovintiv operates three core properties: Montney (B.C.), Anadarko (Oklahoma) and Permian (Texas)....

The price for Western Canadian crude oil jumped from an average $4.92 a barrel in April to $46.03 in June as Canada and other countries began to ease COVID-19 lockdowns.


Strengthening oil prices, combined with aggressive cost cuts, improve the prospects of these four oil producers....

OVINTIV INC., $14.66, is a buy. The energy producer (Toronto symbol OVV; Shares outstanding: 259.8 million; Market cap: $3.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 3.6%) recently became a U.S. company and changed its name from Encana Corp.


A key reason for the move to the U.S....

Oil prices are moving up as OPEC producers and others cut their supply because of reduced global demand due to the pandemic. We feel oil prices will continue to move higher as more countries reopen their economies.


However, with oil and gas prices still at historically low levels, it’s unlikely that renewable power sources will soon replace the need for fossil fuels....

TELUS CORP. $23 is a buy. The stock (Toronto symbol T; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $29.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 5.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.telus.com) lets you tap Canada’s third-largest wireless carrier after Rogers Communications (No....

CENOVUS ENERGY, $9.32, is a buy for the Resources segment of your portfolio. The company (Toronto symbol CVE; Shares o/s: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $11.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.7%; www.cenovus.com) owns 100% of the Christina Lake and Foster Creek oil sands properties in Alberta....

OVINTIV INC. $22.39, is a buy for the Resources sector of your portfolio. The energy producer (Toronto symbol OVV; Shares outstanding: 259.8 million; Market cap: $27.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.2%) is the former Encana Corp.


Shareholders and regulators recently approved Encana’s plan to become a U.S.-based firm and change its name to Ovintiv Inc.


Effective January 27, 2020, the company consolidated its shares: investors received one share of Ovintiv for every five Encana shares they held.


The new shares now trade on both the Toronto and New York exchanges under the “OVV” symbol.


The move to the U.S....

Despite persistently low oil and gas prices, you should continue to hold Resource stocks in your portfolio (as much as 15% of the total). To cut your risk, however, investors should stick with producers—like Cenovus and Encana—that have high-quality properties and low operating costs.


CENOVUS ENERGY INC....