Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.00.

CNQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, July 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Addenda Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 11.0% during the second quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 2,370,885 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $74,446,000 after purchasing an additional 235,198 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 15.1% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 43,305 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,360,000 after buying an additional 5,676 shares during the last quarter. FCG Investment Co purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $409,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Finally, Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.0% during the second quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 103,880 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,262,000 after buying an additional 3,070 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE CNQ traded up $0.10 during trading on Monday, hitting $31.00. 3,644,781 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,765,423. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $37.91. The firm has a market cap of $64.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 1.03.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 16.92% and a return on equity of 20.90%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.4227 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

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).