Raymond James Upgrades Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) to "Outperform"

Raymond James upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CNQ. Scotiabank raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Tudor Pickering lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,236,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,479,851. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.84. Canadian Natural Resources has a fifty-two week low of $24.65 and a fifty-two week high of $39.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $29.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.72.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st were paid a $0.4117 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.01%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is presently 77.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 17.8% during the first quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 205,814 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $6,339,000 after buying an additional 31,130 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 5,165 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.7% during the first quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 77,253 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 19.3% in the first quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 693,037 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $21,329,000 after purchasing an additional 112,103 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 21.4% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,197 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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).