Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Sets New 1-Year High at $65.81

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $65.81 and last traded at $65.51, with a volume of 164077 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 29th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.48 and a 200-day moving average of $57.50.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.03). Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.14% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.44 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.6744 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 52.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $960,796,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter worth $451,985,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 29.8% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,739,040 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,409,093,000 after purchasing an additional 5,684,896 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 17,233,139 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $953,143,000 after buying an additional 4,618,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 88.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,930,544 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $491,064,000 after acquiring an additional 3,716,523 shares during the period. 73.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).