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

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. ATB Cormark Capital Markets cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Evercore cut Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE CNQ opened at $46.36 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $51.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.44 and a 200 day moving average of $36.86.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ted Buchan & Co increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 43,814 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,483,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 10,312 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 5,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 26,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,391 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.