Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CNQ shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 309.1% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 896 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% during the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 253.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,307 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 104.0% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.6%

CNQ opened at $31.68 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $37.91. The firm has a market cap of $66.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 1.03.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 19.00% and a return on equity of 19.67%. The business had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4269 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $1.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is currently 60.64%.

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).