Brokerages Set Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) PT at $94.00

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $94.00.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $76.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.97 and its 200-day moving average is $65.51. The firm has a market cap of $81.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Canadian Natural Resources has a one year low of $52.66 and a one year high of $76.56.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.13. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 21.74% and a net margin of 20.15%. The firm had revenue of $7.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. Equities analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.774 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is currently 53.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 57.6% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 594 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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).