Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CNQ. Wolfe Research started coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a peer perform rating for the company. Raymond James raised Canadian Natural Resources to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Desjardins downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a sector perform rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.13.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $33.25. 4,553,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,704,909. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.78. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1-year low of $29.45 and a 1-year high of $41.29. The firm has a market cap of $70.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.52.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 21.98% and a net margin of 18.05%. The firm had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.384 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.96%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 716 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 98.3% in the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 710 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 91.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).