Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CNQ. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Monday, October 19th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $48.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.00. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $30.13 and a 52 week high of $56.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.45.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $8.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.79 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 23.91%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.10 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,447 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 2.5% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,854 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 15,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,256 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Canadian Natural Resources News

Here are the key news stories impacting Canadian Natural Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were C$1.18 per share, above the C$1.05 consensus and up from C$0.62 a year earlier. Net profit reportedly rose to C$3 billion from C$600 million, supported by higher energy prices and production. CNQ beats Q3 earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: CNQ reached its net-debt target ahead of schedule and plans to accelerate share buybacks, adding to its dividend distributions. That may support shareholder returns. Earnings call highlights: buybacks and production outlook
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.625 per share, payable January 5, 2027. Improved Horizon reliability and strong thermal production also underpin a more favorable fourth-quarter outlook. Quarterly dividend announcement Production outlook and reliability update
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly revenue of C$8.74 billion narrowly missed analysts’ C$8.79 billion estimate, despite the earnings beat. That modest shortfall may have tempered the market response. CNQ quarterly earnings report

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations span several resource types and production methods, including oil sands mining and upgrading, thermal in situ projects, conventional oil and gas production, and offshore assets.

The company’s principal operating areas are in Western Canada, the United Kingdom’s North Sea and offshore Africa.