Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $36.42 and last traded at $36.06, with a volume of 5726105 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CNQ shares. Wall Street Zen cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 target price on Canadian Natural Resources and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.43 and a 200-day moving average of $32.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.69.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 14.90%.The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.5875 dividend. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNQ. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 5,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 26,308 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Haven Private LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.4% during the second quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 11,617 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.2% in the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 32,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 2.2% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 17,886 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.