Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) & Legacy Reserves (OTCMKTS:LGCYQ) Critical Comparison

Legacy Reserves (OTCMKTS:LGCYQ) and Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Legacy Reserves and Cenovus Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Legacy Reserves	0	0	0	0	0.00
Cenovus Energy	0	1	5	0	2.83

Cenovus Energy has a consensus target price of $30.00, suggesting a potential upside of 96.01%. Given Cenovus Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cenovus Energy is more favorable than Legacy Reserves.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Legacy Reserves and Cenovus Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Legacy Reserves	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Cenovus Energy	$38.67 billion	0.72	$3.04 billion	$1.45	10.56

Cenovus Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Legacy Reserves.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

51.2% of Cenovus Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Legacy Reserves shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Legacy Reserves and Cenovus Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Legacy Reserves	N/A	N/A	N/A
Cenovus Energy	6.72%	12.88%	6.80%

Summary

Cenovus Energy beats Legacy Reserves on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Legacy Reserves

Legacy Reserves Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It focuses on the horizontal development of unconventional plays in the Permian Basin and the management of shallow-decline oil and natural gas wells in the regions of Permian Basin, East Texas, Rocky Mountain, and Mid-Continent. As of December 31, 2018, the company had proved reserves of approximately 164.9 million barrels of crude oil equivalent covering natural gas, as well as oil and natural gas liquids. Legacy Reserves Inc. was founded in 2005 and is based in Midland, Texas. On June 18, 2019, Legacy Reserves Inc., along with its affiliates, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, refines, transports, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products in Canada and internationally. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, Offshore, Canadian Refining, and U.S. Refining segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen and heavy oil in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. This segment assets include Foster Creek, Christina Lake, and Sunrise projects, as well as Lloydminster thermal and conventional heavy oil assets. The Conventional segment holds natural gas liquids and natural gas assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, Clearwater, and Rainbow Lake operating in Alberta and British Columbia, as well as interests in various natural gas processing facilities. The offshore segment engages in offshore operation, exploration, and development activities in China and the East Coast of Canada. The Canadian Refining segment owns and operates Lloydminster upgrading and asphalt refining complex, which converts heavy oil and bitumen into synthetic crude oil, diesel, asphalt, and other ancillary products, as well as Bruderheim crude-by-rail terminal and ethanol plants. The U.S. Refining segment refines crude oil to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, and other products. Cenovus Energy Inc. is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.