Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $46.44, but opened at $44.77. Canadian Natural Resources shares last traded at $45.54, with a volume of 829,529 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CNQ shares. Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.47. The company has a market cap of $91.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.The business had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 54.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% in the 1st 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 boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% during the 1st 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. grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% during 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 during 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 (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.