Gerdes Energy Research Downgrades Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) to Neutral

Gerdes Energy Research lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) (NYSE:CNQ) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CNQ. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from C$114.00 to C$57.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Securities dropped their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from C$60.00 to C$56.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from C$97.00 to C$49.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Desjardins upped their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$85.81.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

TSE:CNQ opened at C$48.22 on Friday. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12 month low of C$40.02 and a 12 month high of C$56.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$46.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$71.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.64. The firm has a market cap of C$102.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.91.

Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) (NYSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported C$0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$0.84 by C$0.04. The company had revenue of C$9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$8.41 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 20.88%. On average, analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 3.6036866 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.26%.

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).