These safety-conscious stocks remain buys

Article Excerpt

CENOVUS ENERGY, $28.17, is a buy for long-term gains. The company (Toronto symbol CVE; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $53.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 1.5%; www.cenovus.com) is now one of Canada’s top-tier producer of oil and natural gas following its all-stock acquisition of rival oil producer Husky Energy Inc. (Toronto symbol HSE) on January 1, 2021. It also operates refineries in Canada and the U.S. Thanks to its rising production and higher crude prices, as well as its falling debt, the company tripled the quarterly dividend with the June 2022 payment, to $0.105 a share from $0.035. The new annual rate of $0.42 yields 1.8%. Cenovus will also spend roughly $2.5 billion on share buybacks in the second half of 2022. Investors can expect the company’s cash flow per share to reach $7.64 in 2022, and the stock trades at just 3.1 times that forecast. Cenovus is a buy. ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES, $14.98, is a buy. The utility (Toronto symbol AQN; Shares o/s: 677.8 million; Market…