Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Rating Increased to Outperform at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CNQ. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.54. 3,844,405 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,210,803. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1 year low of $29.30 and a 1 year high of $51.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Friday, June 19th will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 49.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 146,331,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,956,204,000 after buying an additional 35,067,143 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 179.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,616,347 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $393,213,000 after buying an additional 7,455,286 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 11,020.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,735 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $124,672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647,636 shares in the last quarter. BCV Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $84,309,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $73,628,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Canadian Natural Resources News

Here are the key news stories impacting Canadian Natural Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of C$0.625/share (payable July 7; record June 19; ex‑div June 18) — a ~5.6% yield that supports income investors and can underpin the share price. Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Two analyst upgrades: Raymond James raised CNQ from “market perform” to “outperform,” and Zacks moved CNQ from “hold” to “strong‑buy” — upgrades can attract fresh buy interest. Raymond James Upgrade Zacks Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets reported Q1 results that topped revenue/earnings expectations (revenue ~ $7.7–7.8B; multiple providers reported EPS beats), which explains some of the intraday buying. Company Q1 Release / Call
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price‑target activity and institutional moves remain supportive — recent median analyst target cited around $64 and large institutional additions reported in Q4 2025. That creates upside expectation versus the current mid‑$40s level. Quiver Analyst / Holdings Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Company commentary emphasized operational efficiency (noting low oil‑sands operating costs), which supports medium‑term production economics but is not a direct cash‑flow metric. Press Release / Ops Commentary
• Negative Sentiment: A third‑party breakdown shows sizable YoY declines in gross and operating profit, a large drop in net income and diluted EPS, higher cost of sales, a big increase in capex and rising total liabilities — these points raise margin and balance‑sheet concerns that could weigh on longer‑term returns if trends persist. Quiver Financials Detail

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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.