Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Price Target Raised to $49.00

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) had its target price increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $37.00 to $49.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Desjardins lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Evercore cut Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $48.46 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.63. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $48.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.06. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 24.48%.The business had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 45.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNQ. World Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $371,000. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 26,778 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 2,349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

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.