Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

by · The Markets Daily

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ – Get Free Report) (TSE:CNQ) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $35.55, but opened at $34.30. Canadian Natural Resources shares last traded at $34.50, with a volume of 601,655 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.50.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $73.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.95.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ – Get Free Report) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.05% and a return on equity of 22.09%. The company had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.388 per share. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 144,344,207 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,011,765,000 after purchasing an additional 684,532 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,813,537 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,343,849,000 after buying an additional 714,346 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,518,833 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,514,190,000 after acquiring an additional 20,843,193 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 93.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,464,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,476,644,000 after acquiring an additional 19,980,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 105.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 31,668,045 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,127,382,000 after acquiring an additional 16,245,046 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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).

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