Brokerages Set Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Price Target at $57.00

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $57.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, March 12th.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 1.7%

CNQ stock opened at $45.59 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12-month low of $29.30 and a 12-month high of $51.34. The stock has a market cap of $94.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $46.55 and its 200 day moving average is $41.26.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

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.