Zacks Research Downgrades Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) to Hold

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

NYSE:CNQ opened at $51.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $105.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 0.46. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $29.48 and a 52 week high of $51.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.98.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,447 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.7% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 15,199 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 43,814 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 10,312 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 93,840 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,573,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.