Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Receives $51.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the four research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.00.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,518,833 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,514,190,000 after acquiring an additional 20,843,193 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 93.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,464,502 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,476,644,000 after purchasing an additional 19,980,902 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 105.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 31,668,045 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,127,382,000 after buying an additional 16,245,046 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 95.9% during the second quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 29,456,746 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,048,660,000 after buying an additional 14,418,835 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 90.3% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,017,414 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,069,338,000 after acquiring an additional 14,246,978 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

CNQ stock traded down $1.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,802,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,252,532. The firm has a market cap of $69.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock's 50 day moving average is $34.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.11. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $29.45 and a 52 week high of $41.29.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $7.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 20.07%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.388 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is currently 60.58%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).