Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $55.50 and last traded at $54.5190, with a volume of 6,518,681 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $55.06.

Canadian Natural Resources News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Canadian Natural Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Canadian Natural Resources’ quarterly dividend of CAD$0.53 per share reinforces its appeal to income-oriented investors and highlights the company’s shareholder-return profile. Canadian Natural Resources stock pays CAD 0.53 quarterly dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Two comparison articles favor Canadian Natural Resources as a dividend investment over Suncor and Enbridge, potentially strengthening the stock’s appeal among investors seeking energy income and exposure to Canadian oil producers. Canadian Natural Resources vs. Suncor Canadian Natural Resources vs. Enbridge
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell nearly 49% in October to about 59.4 million shares, with roughly 3% of the float sold short. The reduction may indicate improving sentiment and could lessen potential selling pressure on CNQ.
• Positive Sentiment: CNQ recently reached a fresh 52-week high near $55.11, signaling strong recent momentum, although the move may also encourage profit-taking. Canadian Natural Resources pushes to a fresh 52-week high
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of Canadian Natural’s natural-gas operations points to changing operational conditions, but the available headline does not establish whether the developments will materially improve earnings. What Is Changing in Canadian Natural’s Natural Gas Operations?
• Negative Sentiment: The broader TSX has been under pressure and is trading well below its recent year-to-date high, creating a weaker market backdrop that may weigh on CNQ despite its company-specific strengths. TSX Composite Index outlook

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.44 and a 200 day moving average of $45.50. The stock has a market cap of $111.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.53.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.40 billion. Equities analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of C$0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,826,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397,500 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter valued at $1,411,619,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.4% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 16,459,772 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $784,278,000 after buying an additional 223,444 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 7,994,427 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $389,568,000 after buying an additional 217,437 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 26.7% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,011,862 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $341,546,000 after buying an additional 1,475,500 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, marketing and sale of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional petroleum assets, heavy crude oil operations, and oil sands projects that produce bitumen and synthetic crude oil.

The company’s principal operations are located in Western Canada, including oil sands and conventional assets in Alberta and natural gas properties in Alberta and British Columbia.