Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ) To Go Ex-Dividend on June 13th

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 9th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.4227 per share by the oil and gas producer on Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This is a 2.7% increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41.

Canadian Natural Resources has a payout ratio of 71.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Canadian Natural Resources to earn $2.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.71 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 69.0%.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE CNQ opened at $32.19 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.34. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $37.91. The firm has a market cap of $67.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on CNQ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 8,336 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).