Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Receives $63.00 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.00.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNQ. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the third quarter valued at $13,700,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 595.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 5,982 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 296,424 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,151,000 after acquiring an additional 17,694 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,109,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $746,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,437,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $136,994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064,492 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CNQ opened at $29.24 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.54. The stock has a market cap of $61.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.48. 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 has a 52 week low of $25.62 and a 52 week high of $41.29.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.4117 per share. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.88%.

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).