The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that RBC Dominion Securities analyst Greg Pardy has reiterated his "outperform" recommendation and $28 share target for Cenovus Energy. The Globe's David Leeder writes that analysts on average target the shares at $30.37. Mr. Pardy has reaffirmed his "constructive stance" toward Cenovus following a meeting with president and chief executive officer Jon McKenzie, pointing to its "capable leadership team, strengthened balance sheet, stern capital discipline, and bolstered shareholder returns." Mr. Pardy says in a note: "The missing ingredient in the mix has been operating momentum, but this should surface in the second half of this year. ... Cenovus's progress in ramping up its U.S. refinery operations remains an important element in terms of achieving its net debt target, in part because its downstream utilization rate should rise as the year unfolds. At Toledo, the east side of the plant was brought up in April, with the west side of the refinery expected to be fully running in June. The crude unit at Cenovus's Superior refinery came on-line in April, with ramp-up progressing on a unit-by-unit basis and a full restart expected later in the second quarter."