Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) Lowered to Hold at Desjardins

Desjardins lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) (NYSE:CNQ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. Desjardins currently has C$110.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of C$104.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CNQ. ATB Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$100.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$100.00 to C$120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$110.00 to C$115.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$102.00 to C$106.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$86.00 to C$110.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$111.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at C$106.52 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is C$100.72 and its 200-day moving average price is C$91.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 31.01. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52-week low of C$69.83 and a 52-week high of C$112.99. The company has a market cap of C$113.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.98.

Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) (NYSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported C$2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.14 by C$0.20. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.89% and a return on equity of 21.11%. The firm had revenue of C$9.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$9.04 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 7.6092114 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 51.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Canadian Natural Resources

In other Canadian Natural Resources news, Director Stephen W. Laut acquired 414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$105.70 per share, for a total transaction of C$43,760.71. In related news, Senior Officer Erin Louise Lunn sold 3,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$35.59, for a total value of C$130,419.35. Also, Director Stephen W. Laut bought 414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$105.70 per share, with a total value of C$43,760.71. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 331,237 shares of company stock worth $32,470,646. Company insiders own 2.20% 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).