Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $51.44 and last traded at $51.19, with a volume of 183952 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $51.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $105.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $44.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.98.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The business had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.40 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 146,331,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,956,204,000 after purchasing an additional 35,067,143 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,305,198 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,160,340,000 after buying an additional 818,809 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 42,745,981 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,446,951,000 after buying an additional 1,342,954 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,826,578,000 after buying an additional 3,397,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,411,619,000. 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.