Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Downgraded by Raymond James Financial to Hold

Raymond James Financial cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Evercore cut Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $49.40 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $102.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.63. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $51.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $42.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.13.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 49.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

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.