Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CNQ. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE CNQ opened at $37.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources has a one year low of $24.65 and a one year high of $38.32.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 8,336 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 13,996 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

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.