Analysts Set Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Target Price at $63.00

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.00.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CNQ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, July 11th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 240.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,776,594 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $701,519,000 after buying an additional 16,094,168 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 86.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,262,707 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $746,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,259,267 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 29.1% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,968,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,354,219,000 after purchasing an additional 9,915,345 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $162,575,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 13.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,769,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,285,464,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,451 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CNQ opened at $29.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $62.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.35. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $37.91.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.97 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 19.00%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a $0.4269 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $1.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 60.64%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).