Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Receives $57.00 Average PT from Brokerages

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 146,331,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,956,204,000 after buying an additional 35,067,143 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 42,745,981 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,446,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342,954 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,826,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,397,500 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter worth about $1,411,619,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,621 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347,844 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ opened at $49.61 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.03 and a 200 day moving average of $46.41. The stock has a market cap of $102.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52-week low of $29.68 and a 52-week high of $52.31.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.40 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

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.