Desjardins Upgrades Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) to “Moderate Buy”

Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. 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. Scotiabank reiterated a sector perform rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $49.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $37.59 on Tuesday. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12-month low of $29.45 and a 12-month high of $41.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.26.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.26. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.05% and a return on equity of 22.09%. The business had revenue of $7.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.388 dividend. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 716 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 98.3% in the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 710 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 91.6% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 104.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 874 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).