Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $52.31 and last traded at $51.31, with a volume of 345905 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $105.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.67 and its 200-day moving average is $46.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 22.78%.The business had revenue of $14.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.40 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 44.69%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 8,336 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) is a Canadian independent crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, marketing and refining company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company produces a range of energy products, including heavy and light crude oil, synthetic crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

CNRL’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it holds significant oil sands, conventional oil and natural gas assets. Its oil sands business includes mining and upgrading operations as well as in situ thermal projects.