Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.13.

CNQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Raymond James upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Desjardins cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,639 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,096,000. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV now owns 20,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 4,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 501.2% in the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 36,634 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,400,000 after purchasing an additional 30,541 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.3 %

CNQ opened at $32.93 on Thursday. Canadian Natural Resources has a one year low of $29.45 and a one year high of $41.29. The company has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.77.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.19 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 21.98% and a net margin of 18.05%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.384 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 60.96%.

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).