Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $49.16 and last traded at $48.9980, with a volume of 11685717 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CNQ shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Desjardins downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.63.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 17.84%. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Ted Buchan & Co raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 43,814 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. FDx Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 10,312 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 5,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 26,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,391 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE: CNQ) is a Calgary-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Established in the early 1970s and publicly listed in Canada and the United States, the company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its asset base spans conventional and unconventional reservoirs and includes oil sands mining and in-situ thermal projects, midstream processing and upgrading capacity, and related field operations.

The company’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it develops heavy crude, bitumen from oil sands and conventional light crude and natural gas resources.