Cenovus Energy (CVE) Competitors

Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) and Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, community ranking, dividends, risk, media sentiment, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Does the media refer more to CNQ or CVE?

In the previous week, Canadian Natural Resources had 11 more articles in the media than Cenovus Energy. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Canadian Natural Resources and 4 mentions for Cenovus Energy. Cenovus Energy's average media sentiment score of 0.94 beat Canadian Natural Resources' score of 0.47 indicating that Cenovus Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Canadian Natural Resources	4 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Cenovus Energy	2 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend CNQ or CVE?

Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus target price of C$54.08, suggesting a potential upside of 35.21%. Cenovus Energy has a consensus target price of C$28.35, suggesting a potential upside of 70.89%. Given Cenovus Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Cenovus Energy is more favorable than Canadian Natural Resources.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Canadian Natural Resources	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71
Cenovus Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.90

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in CNQ or CVE?

77.8% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.2% of Cenovus Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 32.0% of Cenovus Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is CNQ or CVE a better dividend stock?

Canadian Natural Resources pays an annual dividend of C$2.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Cenovus Energy pays an annual dividend of C$0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Canadian Natural Resources pays out 59.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cenovus Energy pays out 35.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, CNQ or CVE?

Canadian Natural Resources has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Cenovus Energy. Cenovus Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Canadian Natural Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Canadian Natural Resources	C$35.38B	2.37	C$7.52B	C$3.60	11.11
Cenovus Energy	C$54.87B	0.55	C$3.69B	C$2.03	8.18

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer CNQ or CVE?

Canadian Natural Resources received 55 more outperform votes than Cenovus Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 58.69% of users gave Cenovus Energy an outperform vote while only 58.54% of users gave Canadian Natural Resources an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Canadian Natural Resources	Outperform Votes 764 58.54%	Underperform Votes 541 41.46%
Cenovus Energy	Outperform Votes 709 58.69%	Underperform Votes 499 41.31%

Is CNQ or CVE more profitable?

Canadian Natural Resources has a net margin of 21.25% compared to Cenovus Energy's net margin of 6.72%. Canadian Natural Resources' return on equity of 19.14% beat Cenovus Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Canadian Natural Resources	21.25%	19.14%	8.80%
Cenovus Energy	6.72%	12.67%	7.58%

Which has more risk & volatility, CNQ or CVE?

Canadian Natural Resources has a beta of 1.89, indicating that its share price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cenovus Energy has a beta of 2.63, indicating that its share price is 163% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Canadian Natural Resources beats Cenovus Energy on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.