Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from “hold” to “strong-buy,” while analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with a $57.00 target price.
• CNQ shares opened at $48.16 and were down 0.3%; the company recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.58, exceeding the $1.43 consensus estimate, alongside $14.74 billion in revenue.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 74.03%, with several major investors—including WCM Investment Management and Amundi—recently increasing their positions.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $48.16 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $98.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.50. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52-week low of $29.68 and a 52-week high of $52.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,198,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $117,215,000. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 22.4% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,122,209 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $252,883,000 after purchasing an additional 938,210 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter valued at $1,785,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.1% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 8,238,632 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $325,426,000 after purchasing an additional 244,205 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, marketing and transportation company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company produces synthetic crude oil, conventional heavy and light crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas.

Its operations are concentrated in Western Canada and include oil sands mining and upgrading projects in northern Alberta, conventional and heavy-oil assets, and natural gas production.

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