Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The oil and gas producer reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08, Zacks reports. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 19.00%.The business had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,389,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,549,901. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.96. Canadian Natural Resources has a fifty-two week low of $24.65 and a fifty-two week high of $34.97.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.5875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNQ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter worth $212,000. 44 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter worth $304,000. Finally, ICONIQ Capital LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 49.2% during the second quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 9,902 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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).