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

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.00.

CNQ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $33.10 on Friday. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $29.45 and a twelve month high of $41.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.43 and its 200-day moving average is $35.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.50.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.30. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 20.07%. The firm had revenue of $7.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.388 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% in 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 period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 93.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,464,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,476,644,000 after buying an additional 19,980,902 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position 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 worth $1,048,660,000 after buying an additional 14,418,835 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $1,069,338,000 after buying an additional 14,246,978 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).