Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Stock Rating Lowered by Desjardins

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was downgraded by investment analysts at Desjardins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CNQ opened at $76.71 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $82.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.54. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52-week low of $52.66 and a 52-week high of $82.58.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 20.15% and a return on equity of 21.74%. Equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 993.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 206,580 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,535,000 after purchasing an additional 187,694 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 556.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 96,338 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,312,000 after acquiring an additional 81,669 shares in the last quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 464,287 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $30,406,000 after acquiring an additional 15,546 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 130.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,407 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,292,000 after acquiring an additional 89,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 456,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $29,904,000 after acquiring an additional 44,568 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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).