Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Eleven analysts give CNQ an average recommendation of Moderate Buy (six buy, five hold) with a 1‑year average target price of C$58.75.
• Several major brokerages raised targets on March 6 — notably BMO to C$70, ATB Cormark and RBC to C$65, and National Bank to C$59 — indicating recent analyst optimism.
• Insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 51,775 shares worth about C$2.57M in the last quarter (including large sales by Trevor Wagil and Ronald Laing), though insiders still own 4.26% of the company.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) NYSE: CNQ has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$58.75.

CNQ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. National Bank Financial increased their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from C$54.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$50.00 to C$70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$51.00 to C$50.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$56.00 to C$65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$61.00 to C$65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Trevor Wagil sold 14,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$49.96, for a total value of C$724,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,779 shares in the company, valued at C$738,358.84. The trade was a 49.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Ronald Keith Laing sold 20,000 shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$49.83, for a total value of C$996,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$102,101.67. The trade was a 90.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 51,775 shares of company stock worth $2,571,074. 4.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CNQ opened at C$64.18 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.46. The stock has a market cap of C$133.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.81. The business's 50 day moving average price is C$52.87 and its 200-day moving average price is C$47.64. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of C$34.92 and a 52 week high of C$64.39.

Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) NYSE: CNQ last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported C$0.82 earnings per share for the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 25.98% and a net margin of 26.06%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 3.833989 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources is one of the largest oil and natural gas producers in western Canada, supplemented by operations in the North Sea and Offshore Africa. The company's portfolio includes light and medium oil, heavy oil, bitumen, synthetic oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas. Production averaged 1.16 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2020, and the company estimates that it holds over 11.5 billion boe of proven and probable crude oil and natural gas reserves.

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