Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $43.16 and last traded at $42.9780, with a volume of 2325940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Evercore downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Desjardins downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $89.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.40.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 26,778 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $906,000 after buying an additional 2,349 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,975 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 45,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 7,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $479,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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.