Tudor, Pickering, Holt on Monday maintained its buy rating on the shares of MEG Energy (MEG.TO) with a C$30.00 price target after the oil-sands producer's board again affirmed support for a friendly offer from Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) despite a higher hostile offer from Strathcona Resources (SCR.TO).

"Given MEG shares have been trading between the CVE and SCR offers on the uncertainty, MEG shareholder alignment with the Board would suggest downside towards CVE's bid; positive for CVE as (i) CVE's management team had been open since the revised SCR offer about its initial bid being best and final and (ii) CVE has continued to receive praise for its discipline associated with the potential transaction. This morning, MEG press released that its Board of Directors (i) reaffirmed its unanimous decision to shareholders to vote for the CVE transaction and (ii) recommends that shareholders reject the revised SCR offer. At a high level, the MEG Board believes that the revised SCR offer fails to address or adequately compensate for the significant risks embedded in SCR shares, whereas the CVE transaction "delivers an attractive price, upside potential, substantial cash, and value certainty," analyst Jeoffrey Lambujon wrote.

(MT Newswires covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www.mtnewswires.com/contact-us)

Price: 28.87, Change: +0.11, Percent Change: +0.38