Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.00.

CNQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE CNQ opened at $49.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.71. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1 year low of $29.30 and a 1 year high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 22.78%.The business had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.40 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 8,336 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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.