Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $45.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $95.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.47. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12 month low of $28.27 and a 12 month high of $51.34. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.63.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.43. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 24.48%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is currently 49.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNQ. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 146,331,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,956,204,000 after acquiring an additional 35,067,143 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,305,198 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,160,340,000 after purchasing an additional 818,809 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 42,745,981 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,446,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,342,954 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,621 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,308,539 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $484,344,000 after buying an additional 260,746 shares in the last quarter. 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.