Small setback for Cenovus

Article Excerpt

CENOVUS ENERGY INC. $24 is a buy. Canada’s third-largest producer of oil and natural gas (Toronto symbol CVE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $45.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cenovus.com) had to curtail operations at its Rainbow Lake property, 900 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, due to the wildfires in Alberta. That operation produces light crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Rainbow Lake’s daily output typically averages 85,000 barrels a day. However, it has now resumed production of just 62,000 barrels a day. The company expects to add another 20,000 barrels in the next two weeks; the remaining 3,000 barrels requires the restoration of power lines and other infrastructure. To put those figures in context, Cenovus produced 779,000 barrels a day (82% oil, 18% natural gas) in the three months ended March 31, 2023. The shutdown at Rainbow Lake should have little impact on the company’s plan to return more cash to investors…