Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.50.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $37.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12 month low of $29.45 and a 12 month high of $41.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.23. The company has a market cap of $78.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 1.50.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.05% and a return on equity of 22.09%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.388 per share. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is currently 66.14%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% during the second 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 buying an additional 20,843,193 shares during the period. 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 period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 105.3% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 31,668,045 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,127,382,000 after buying an additional 16,245,046 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 95.9% during the second 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 buying an additional 14,418,835 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 90.3% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,017,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,069,338,000 after buying an additional 14,246,978 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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).