Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as C$66.28 (last at C$66.02) on heavy volume (~11.2M shares), while several brokers raised price targets including BMO to C$70 and ATB to C$65.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but overall a Moderate Buy from MarketBeat: six Buys and five Holds, with an average target of C$58.75 — notably below the current share price.
• Fundamentals show strong profitability and scale: market cap C$137.72B, P/E 12.79, ROE 25.98% and net margin 26.06%, though insiders have sold ~51,775 shares (~C$2.57M) in the last 90 days and now hold 4.26% of shares.

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) NYSE: CNQ hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$66.28 and last traded at C$66.02, with a volume of 11203761 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$64.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CNQ. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from C$53.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from C$58.00 to C$62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Evercore cut Canadian Natural Resources from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a C$50.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from C$56.00 to C$65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$50.00 to C$70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$58.75.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of C$137.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's fifty day moving average is C$52.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$47.64.

Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) NYSE: CNQ last released 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.833989 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Canadian Natural Resources

In related news, insider Brenda Gayle Balog sold 2,252 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.98, for a total transaction of C$112,554.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 47,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,397,290.70. This represents a 4.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Stephanie Ann Graham sold 1,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$49.19, for a total transaction of C$94,936.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$805,092.73. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,775 shares of company stock worth $2,571,074. Insiders own 4.26% of the company's stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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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