Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) shares gapped down before the market opened 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $73.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.86 and a 200-day moving average of $35.87.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.09% and a net margin of 18.05%. The company had revenue of $7.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.388 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 66.14%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,518,833 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,514,190,000 after acquiring an additional 20,843,193 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 93.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,464,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,476,644,000 after purchasing an additional 19,980,902 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 105.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 31,668,045 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,127,382,000 after purchasing an additional 16,245,046 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 95.9% in the 2nd quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 29,456,746 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,048,660,000 after purchasing an additional 14,418,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 90.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,017,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,069,338,000 after purchasing an additional 14,246,978 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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).