Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) Rating Increased to Moderate Buy at Raymond James Financial

Key Points

• Raymond James upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from "hold" to Moderate Buy, and multiple analysts have raised price targets, leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of C$63.60.
• CNQ reported quarterly EPS of C$1.17 on C$10.81 billion revenue, with strong profitability (net margin ~26% and ROE ~26%), trading at a P/E of 11.8 and a market cap of about C$127.2 billion (shares opened at C$60.96).
• A director sold 25,000 shares at an average price of C$68.01 (a 12.74% reduction in that position); insiders now hold roughly 4.26% of the company.

Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) NYSE: CNQ was upgraded by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on CNQ. ATB Cormark Capital Markets increased their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from C$56.00 to C$65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from C$48.00 to C$70.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Desjardins increased their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from C$52.00 to C$56.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from C$52.00 to C$54.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from C$50.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$63.60.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of TSE CNQ opened at C$60.96 on Thursday. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1-year low of C$40.62 and a 1-year high of C$70.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$64.03 and a 200-day moving average of C$53.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.46, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of C$127.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.48.

Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) NYSE: CNQ last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$1.17 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$10.81 billion during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 25.98% and a net margin of 26.06%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 3.833989 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Canadian Natural Resources news, Director Gordon D. Giffin sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$68.01, for a total transaction of C$1,700,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 171,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$11,643,992.10. This trade represents a 12.74% decrease in their position. 4.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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