Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

CNQ has been the subject of several other reports. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE CNQ opened at $51.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.98. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52-week low of $29.48 and a 52-week high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 22.78%.The business had revenue of $14.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.40 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 44.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% during the 4th 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter worth about $1,411,619,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 11,020.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,735 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $124,672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647,636 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,826,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,397,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Canada LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 105.7% in the second quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 6,350,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $250,892,000 after purchasing an additional 3,262,880 shares in the last quarter. 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.