Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $46.44, but opened at $44.77. Canadian Natural Resources shares last traded at $45.54, with a volume of 829,529 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 2.7%

The stock has a market cap of $93.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.28.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion for 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.