Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $52.31 and last traded at $51.31, with a volume of 345905 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $51.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on CNQ shares. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 1.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $103.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.47. 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 fifty day moving average of $47.11 and a 200 day moving average of $46.15.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.40 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 8,336 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) is a Canadian independent crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, marketing and refining company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company produces a range of energy products, including heavy and light crude oil, synthetic crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

CNRL’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it holds significant oil sands, conventional oil and natural gas assets. Its oil sands business includes mining and upgrading operations as well as in situ thermal projects.