Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $35.07 and last traded at $35.0680, with a volume of 1559403 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CNQ shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Desjardins lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $32.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.71. The stock has a market cap of $71.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 18.93%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.5875 per share. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 75.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 240.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,776,594 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $701,519,000 after buying an additional 16,094,168 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,968,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,354,219,000 after purchasing an additional 9,915,345 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $162,575,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 13.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,769,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,285,464,000 after buying an additional 4,805,451 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,742,099 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,852,024,000 after buying an additional 3,003,542 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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).