Zacks Research Downgrades Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) to Hold

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 3.4%

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $44.72 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.98. Canadian Natural Resources has a fifty-two week low of $29.30 and a fifty-two week high of $51.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.18.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.The company had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 146,331,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,956,204,000 after purchasing an additional 35,067,143 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,305,198 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,160,340,000 after purchasing an additional 818,809 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 42,745,981 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,446,951,000 after buying an additional 1,342,954 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,826,578,000 after buying an additional 3,397,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter worth $1,411,619,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.