Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CNQ. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of CNQ opened at $47.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.47. Canadian Natural Resources has a fifty-two week low of $29.30 and a fifty-two week 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 moving average is $43.99 and its 200-day moving average is $43.18.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.03%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 146,331,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,956,204,000 after purchasing an additional 35,067,143 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter worth $1,411,619,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 179.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,616,347 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $393,213,000 after buying an additional 7,455,286 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 11,020.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,735 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $124,672,000 after buying an additional 3,647,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,826,578,000 after buying an additional 3,397,500 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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.