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

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CNQ. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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 note on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Evercore cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ stock opened at $42.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Canadian Natural Resources has a one year low of $27.93 and a one year high of $51.34. The stock has a market cap of $89.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a $0.625 dividend. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 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.