Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $37.00 to $49.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 0.96% from the company’s previous close.

CNQ has been the topic of several other reports. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Desjardins lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 2.7%

CNQ stock traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $48.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,813,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,225,011. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.63. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $48.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.46.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 17.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 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.