Stifel Firstegy Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ)

Stifel Firstegy reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ – Get Rating) (TSE:CNQ) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, PriceTargets.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CNQ. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, November 21st. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$85.00 to C$87.00 in a research note on Friday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday. They issued a buy rating for the company. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$92.00 to C$97.00 in a report on Thursday, December 1st. Finally, National Bank Financial raised their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$88.00 to C$105.00 in a report on Thursday, December 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $91.38.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 0.7 %

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $57.33 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.23 billion, a PE ratio of 7.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.53. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12-month low of $44.45 and a 12-month high of $70.60.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ – Get Rating) (TSE:CNQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.28. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 24.55% and a return on equity of 34.75%. The business had revenue of $8.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.98 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 8.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 16th were issued a $0.6237 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 15th. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 31.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 133.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 639 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 594 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 677.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 987 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.92% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers synthetic crude oil (SCO), light and medium crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), primary heavy crude oil, and Pelican Lake heavy crude oil.