Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ) (NYSE:CNQ) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Evercore raised their price target on the stock from C$105.00 to C$115.00. The company traded as high as C$110.35 and last traded at C$108.89, with a volume of 1122287 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$110.32.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$110.00 to C$115.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from C$94.00 to C$100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from C$90.00 to C$100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from C$95.00 to C$86.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from C$95.00 to C$105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$102.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Calvin John Bast sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$97.62, for a total value of C$366,058.88. In other news, Senior Officer Erin Louise Lunn sold 3,664 shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$35.59, for a total transaction of C$130,419.35. Also, Senior Officer Calvin John Bast sold 3,750 shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$97.62, for a total value of C$366,058.88. Insiders sold a total of 331,663 shares of company stock worth $32,438,948 over the last three months. 2.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of C$117.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 31.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$93.88 and a 200 day moving average price of C$89.84.

Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) (NYSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported C$2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$2.14 by C$0.20. The firm had revenue of C$9.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$9.04 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 21.11% and a net margin of 22.89%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 7.4656696 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.54%.

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).