Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on CNQ. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNQ opened at $32.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $66.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.69. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $35.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.90 and a 200 day moving average of $31.90.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 14.90%.During the same period last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.5875 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 74.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 8,336 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased 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 acquiring an additional 13,996 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE: CNQ) is a Calgary-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Established in the early 1970s and publicly listed in Canada and the United States, the company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its asset base spans conventional and unconventional reservoirs and includes oil sands mining and in-situ thermal projects, midstream processing and upgrading capacity, and related field operations.

The company’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it develops heavy crude, bitumen from oil sands and conventional light crude and natural gas resources.