Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Canadian Natural Resources “Moderate Buy.” Six analysts recommend buying the stock, one rates it a strong buy, and four recommend holding it; the average 12-month price target is $57.00.
• CNQ shares opened at $56.20 and were near their one-year high of $56.27, with a market capitalization of approximately $115.5 billion. The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, reporting earnings of $1.58 per share versus the $1.43 consensus estimate.
• Canadian Natural Resources pays a quarterly dividend of C$0.62, equivalent to an annualized C$2.50 and a 4.4% yield. Institutional investors own approximately 74.03% of the company.

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CNQ. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Monday, October 19th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CNQ stock opened at $56.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $115.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.76 and a 200-day moving average of $45.85. 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 has a one year low of $30.13 and a one year high of $56.27.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.40 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.10 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a C$0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,826,578,000 after buying an additional 3,397,500 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $1,411,619,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 16,459,772 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $784,278,000 after acquiring an additional 223,444 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 8,238,632 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $325,426,000 after acquiring an additional 244,205 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,011,862 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $341,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, marketing and sale of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional petroleum assets, heavy crude oil operations, and oil sands projects that produce bitumen and synthetic crude oil.

The company's principal operations are located in Western Canada, including oil sands and conventional assets in Alberta and natural gas properties in Alberta and British Columbia.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.