Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.50.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CNQ shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lowered Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 target price on Canadian Natural Resources and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Desjardins cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tacita Capital Inc grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 6.1% in the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 5,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 26,308 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Haven Private LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 11,617 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 32,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.2% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 17,886 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:CNQ opened at $37.88 on Friday. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $38.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.22. The firm has a market cap of $78.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.69.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 18.93%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.5875 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 74.34%.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE: CNQ) is a Calgary-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Established in the early 1970s and publicly listed in Canada and the United States, the company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its asset base spans conventional and unconventional reservoirs and includes oil sands mining and in-situ thermal projects, midstream processing and upgrading capacity, and related field operations.

The company’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it develops heavy crude, bitumen from oil sands and conventional light crude and natural gas resources.