Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 2.6 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.05% and a return on equity of 22.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $890,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 228.5% during the second quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 91,652 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,263,000 after buying an additional 63,756 shares during the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 103.0% during the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 99,999 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,560,000 after buying an additional 50,744 shares in the last quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 985,280 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,696,000 after acquiring an additional 14,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JBF Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 101.1% during the 2nd quarter. JBF Capital Inc. now owns 512,198 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $18,234,000 after acquiring an additional 257,549 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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).