Cenovus Energy (CVE) Competitors

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

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, CVE or CNQ?

Canadian Natural Resources has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cenovus Energy. Canadian Natural Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cenovus Energy, 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
Cenovus Energy	C$55.62B	0.78	C$3.69B	C$1.44	16.88
Canadian Natural Resources	C$43.85B	2.06	C$7.52B	C$3.94	11.01

Do analysts recommend CVE or CNQ?

Cenovus Energy presently has a consensus target price of C$28.18, suggesting a potential upside of 15.97%. Canadian Natural Resources has a consensus target price of C$54.64, suggesting a potential upside of 26.01%. Given Canadian Natural Resources' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Canadian Natural Resources is more favorable than Cenovus Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cenovus Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.08
Canadian Natural Resources	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Does the media favor CVE or CNQ?

In the previous week, Cenovus Energy had 2 more articles in the media than Canadian Natural Resources. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Cenovus Energy and 11 mentions for Canadian Natural Resources. Cenovus Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.22 beat Canadian Natural Resources' score of 1.11 indicating that Cenovus Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Cenovus Energy	6 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Canadian Natural Resources	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, CVE or CNQ?

Cenovus Energy has a beta of 0.660606, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Natural Resources has a beta of 0.880488, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is CVE or CNQ 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
Cenovus Energy	6.72%	12.67%	7.58%
Canadian Natural Resources	21.25%	19.14%	8.80%

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

51.2% of Cenovus Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.8% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 32.0% of Cenovus Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is CVE or CNQ a better dividend stock?

Cenovus Energy pays an annual dividend of C$0.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Canadian Natural Resources pays an annual dividend of C$2.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Cenovus Energy pays out 51.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Canadian Natural Resources pays out 57.4% 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.

Summary

Canadian Natural Resources beats Cenovus Energy on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.