Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with two hold ratings, four buy ratings, and one strong buy rating.
• The company's average 1-year price objective among brokerages is $62.00, matching a price target recently set by Royal Bank of Canada.
• Canadian Natural Resources recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.4269, representing a 5.2% yield and reflecting a positive change from its previous dividend.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.00.

CNQ has been the topic of several recent research reports. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 309.1% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 896 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% in the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 253.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,307 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 104.0% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:CNQ opened at $32.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business's 50 day moving average is $31.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.72. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $37.91. The company has a market cap of $68.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.03.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.07. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 19.00%.The company had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.4269 dividend. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.64%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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).

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