Cenovus EnergyCVE.TOTOP PICKJan 15, 2014Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Aug 14, 2026. Market Open.
It is the cheapest large cap quality company in North America. They have been shooting the lights out with the highest quality assets in Canada. Also they have been able to exit non-performing refineries and at the same time increasing exposure to better ones while turning them around. Margins are up 200 to 300% year over year in the last quarter and he thinks this will persist. They are getting refinery exposure and best of breed highest quality oil sands assets. The time for the oil sands is now. They have one of the cheapest multiples of large cap stocks in North America. . Also they are paying down debt to very conservative levels and returning 75% of free cash flow to shareholders mostly in the form of share buybacks. He thinks that number will go to 100% next year.
In summary it has an excellent balance sheet and management team as well as decades and decades of inventory. He sees 50 to 60% upside.
Buy 18 Hold 1 Sell1
Lightened up a bit after the runup. Price of oil will come down, but the bigger question is where will it level out? A hard one to gauge, but his sense is that it will take longer to get supplies out. (He's not a big believer in the pending agreement yet.)
In general oil isn't going back to where it was, and these stocks will be pretty good buys. One of the best oil-levered plays. MEG purchase was brilliant.
Set-it-and-forget-it way to get exposure to bullish oil thesis. New floor for oil is $80, and higher in years to come. Downstream exposure (refineries), with margins at record highs. Top decile oilsands assets. Another record quarter. Really likes management. Yield is 2.09%.
(Analysts’ price target is $43.47)
(A Top Pick Jan 3/13. Down 8.8%.) Had “best in class” operating metrics coming out of 2008 in the downturn and they got paid for that in the marketplace. Had some operational difficulties last year, but these assets are multi-decade assets and there will be a bad year here and there, but as a long-term investor, that just gives you a chance to accumulate more. Have been growing their dividend which he likes to see. Going to have lots of free cash flow but it’s a little bit further out because they have growth projects in front of them that they are spending money on.