Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

Separately, Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:CNQ opened at $30.16 on Friday. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $29.23 and a 52 week high of $41.29. The stock has a market cap of $63.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $7.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.388 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,518,833 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,514,190,000 after purchasing an additional 20,843,193 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 93.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,464,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,476,644,000 after buying an additional 19,980,902 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 105.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 31,668,045 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,127,382,000 after acquiring an additional 16,245,046 shares during the last quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 95.9% during the 2nd quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 29,456,746 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,048,660,000 after acquiring an additional 14,418,835 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 90.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,017,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,069,338,000 after purchasing an additional 14,246,978 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).