Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Upgraded at Desjardins

Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $43.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.47. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1 year low of $29.30 and a 1 year high of $51.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.79.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 8,336 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 13,996 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. 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.