Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $36.42 and last traded at $36.06, with a volume of 5726105 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CNQ. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.18. The stock has a market cap of $77.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 0.69.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.5875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. 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 currently 74.34%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 92,486,389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,957,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744,290 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.5% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,939,585 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,505,303,000 after buying an additional 2,051,714 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.8% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 41,581,125 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,304,267,000 after buying an additional 316,933 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 10.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,359,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $855,414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,546,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 19.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,146,792 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $548,214,000 after acquiring an additional 2,832,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

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.