Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Down 6.4% – Should You Sell?

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) shares were down 6.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $44.71 and last traded at $45.9940. Approximately 5,933,377 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 11,039,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CNQ. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price 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. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 6.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.53.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.06. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 24.48%.The firm had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in 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 worth $4,956,204,000 after buying an additional 35,067,143 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,305,198 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,160,340,000 after acquiring an additional 818,809 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.2% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,342,954 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,359,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $855,414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 7.0% during the 4th 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. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.