Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $35.55, but opened at $34.30. Canadian Natural Resources shares last traded at $34.50, with a volume of 601,655 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNQ. Wolfe Research began coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 2.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $73.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 1.50. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $34.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.09% and a net margin of 18.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.388 dividend. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,774 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,662,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP now owns 32,017 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,444,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 29,908 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 98.3% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 710 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 716 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

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).