Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on CNQ. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $44.72 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.18. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12 month low of $29.30 and a 12 month high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE: CNQ) is a Calgary-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Established in the early 1970s and publicly listed in Canada and the United States, the company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its asset base spans conventional and unconventional reservoirs and includes oil sands mining and in-situ thermal projects, midstream processing and upgrading capacity, and related field operations.

The company’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it develops heavy crude, bitumen from oil sands and conventional light crude and natural gas resources.