Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Lifted 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 research note published on Thursday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Desjardins lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank reaffirmed a sector perform rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a peer perform rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.13.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:CNQ opened at $36.52 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $77.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 1.52. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1-year low of $29.45 and a 1-year high of $41.29.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.26. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.05% and a return on equity of 21.98%. The business had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 4th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.384 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 311.5% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,699 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 26,266 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 132.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 59,459 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after buying an additional 33,930 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 104.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,497 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,830,000 after purchasing an additional 40,672 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $223,000. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5,124.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 3,106,292 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $110,584,000 after purchasing an additional 3,046,832 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).