Analysts Set Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) PT at $49.50

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CNQ shares. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE CNQ opened at $34.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $29.45 and a twelve month high of $41.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.39. The firm has a market cap of $73.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.51.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 4th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.384 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.75%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 123.0% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 8,920,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $317,766,000 after buying an additional 4,920,000 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 87.0% in the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 81,342 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,896,000 after acquiring an additional 37,849 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,485,000. Souders Financial Advisors boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 103.0% in the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 99,999 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,560,000 after purchasing an additional 50,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,186,643 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $42,243,000 after purchasing an additional 464,677 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).