Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Stock Rating Lowered by Raymond James Financial

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was downgraded by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Six equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE CNQ opened at $48.69 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 0.63. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $51.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.08 and a 200-day moving average of $36.25.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 8,336 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in 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 worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 13,996 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 80.0% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 76,235 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after acquiring an additional 33,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.