Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Receives $51.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 31,664 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 322.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 126,812 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,210,000 after buying an additional 96,824 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,142 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SCP Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $558,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.2 %

CNQ stock opened at $34.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.63. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $29.45 and a 52 week high of $41.29. The company has a market cap of $72.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 1.50.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.30. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. The business had revenue of $7.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.388 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.58%.

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).