Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The oil and gas producer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08, Zacks reports. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 19.00% and a return on equity of 19.67%. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,389,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,550,933. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.22. Canadian Natural Resources has a fifty-two week low of $24.65 and a fifty-two week high of $34.97. The firm has a market cap of $65.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.5875 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 60.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNQ. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after buying an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5.8% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 17,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 22.1% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 28,281 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 5,125 shares during the period. Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter worth about $526,000. Finally, ICONIQ Capital LLC raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 49.2% during the second quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 9,902 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CNQ shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).