Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Canadian Natural Resources reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $51.44 and recently changing hands at $51.19, up 0.7%.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $57.00, although Zacks Research downgraded the stock to “hold.”
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.58, beating estimates by $0.15, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, representing a 4.9% annualized yield.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ's stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $51.44 and last traded at $51.19, with a volume of 183952 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $51.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.7%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.02 and a 200 day moving average of $44.98. The company has a market capitalization of $105.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 22.78%.The business had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.40 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.5% during the second quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 182,625 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $7,225,000 after purchasing an additional 4,393 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,447 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 105.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 6,350,644 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $250,892,000 after buying an additional 3,262,880 shares during the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 1,823,954 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $72,046,000 after buying an additional 11,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 27,819 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,099,000 after buying an additional 7,868 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

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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