Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Upgraded to Hold at Desjardins

Key Points

• Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) to a "hold" rating, adding to a mixed but generally constructive analyst backdrop for the stock.
• The company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $57.00; six analysts rate it Buy and five rate it Hold.
• CNQ recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 versus $0.74 expected and revenue of $7.72 billion versus $7.57 billion estimated.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ was upgraded by research analysts at Desjardins to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

CNQ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research cut Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $43.86 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.09 and a 200 day moving average of $42.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $91.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.47. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $29.30 and a 52 week high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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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