Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Posted by Stanley Muller on Jul 23rd, 2026

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ – Free Report) (TSE:CNQ) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CNQ. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Desjardins raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on CNQ

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ stock opened at $45.81 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $95.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.09. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12-month low of $29.30 and a 12-month high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ – Get Free Report) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 54.03%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 8,336 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 13,996 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% during the first 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. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.