Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Cut to “Hold” at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on CNQ. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Evercore downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 4.7%

CNQ opened at $46.44 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.95. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $51.34. The firm has a market cap of $96.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.53.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.89 billion during 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 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.