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

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.50.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CNQ shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $32.64 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.37. Canadian Natural Resources has a one year low of $29.45 and a one year high of $41.29. The company has a market capitalization of $69.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.26. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.09% 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 last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.384 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.75%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SCP Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $425,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 137.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 39,418 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 22,839 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $252,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,020,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).