Canadian Natural Resources' (CNQ) "Outperform" Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Canadian Natural Resources received an "outperform" rating from Royal Bank of Canada with a price target of $62.00, suggesting a potential upside of 91.15% from its previous close.
• The stock is showing strong analyst support, with one "Strong Buy" rating and four "Buy" ratings, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Institutional investors own 74.03% of Canadian Natural Resources' stock, with significant increases in holdings from firms like Goldman Sachs and Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ's stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $62.00 price target on the oil and gas producer's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price points to a potential upside of 91.15% from the stock's previous close.

CNQ has been the subject of several other reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.9%

CNQ stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,024,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,519,481. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $37.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.65. The company has a market capitalization of $67.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 1.03.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.97 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 19.00%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 240.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,776,594 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $701,519,000 after buying an additional 16,094,168 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 86.6% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,262,707 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $746,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,259,267 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 29.1% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,968,120 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,354,219,000 after purchasing an additional 9,915,345 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $162,575,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 13.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,769,153 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,285,464,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.