Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from “hold” to “buy,” while other analysts have also issued positive revisions. The stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $57.00 average price target.
• CNQ shares opened at $47.90, with a market capitalization of approximately $98.79 billion and a 12-month trading range of $29.30 to $51.34.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.58 in earnings per share versus the $1.43 consensus and revenue of $14.74 billion versus estimates of $9.40 billion. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the stock.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CNQ. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CNQ stock opened at $47.90 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $43.68 and its 200 day moving average is $44.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.46. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12 month low of $29.30 and a 12 month high of $51.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The business had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.40 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.7% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 15,199 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 43,814 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,483,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 10,312 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.3% during the first quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 93,840 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,573,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited NYSE: CNQ is a Calgary-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Established in the early 1970s and publicly listed in Canada and the United States, the company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its asset base spans conventional and unconventional reservoirs and includes oil sands mining and in-situ thermal projects, midstream processing and upgrading capacity, and related field operations.

The company's operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it develops heavy crude, bitumen from oil sands and conventional light crude and natural gas resources.

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