Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Stock Rating Upgraded by 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 report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $36.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $77.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $29.45 and a twelve month 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 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 company had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.5% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 144,344,207 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,011,765,000 after purchasing an additional 684,532 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,813,537 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,343,849,000 after purchasing an additional 714,346 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,518,833 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,514,190,000 after buying an additional 20,843,193 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 93.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,464,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,476,644,000 after buying an additional 19,980,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 105.3% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 31,668,045 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,127,382,000 after buying an additional 16,245,046 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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).