Cenovus earns an upgrade

Article Excerpt

CENOVUS ENERGY INC. $32 (Toronto symbol CVE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 755.8 million; Market cap: $24.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cenovus.com) had to write down its natural gas properties in Alberta due to low gas prices. That’s why its earnings fell 30.5% in 2012, to $1.14 a share from $1.64 in 2011. However, cash flow per share rose 11.1%, to $4.80 from $4.32, as it expanded its oil sands production by 35%. The company’s oil refineries and low production costs should keep pushing up its cash flow, even if oil prices fall. As a result, we’ve upgraded Cenovus’s TSINetwork Rating to “Average” from “Extra Risk.” Cenovus is a buy. buy…