Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) Stock Price

Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) (NYSE:CNQ) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from C$54.00 to C$50.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.31% from the stock’s previous close.

CNQ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$48.00 to C$50.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Gerdes Energy Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. TD Securities set a C$58.00 price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from C$52.00 to C$53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from C$60.00 to C$58.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$71.44.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 1.5 %

TSE:CNQ traded up C$0.66 on Thursday, reaching C$44.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,197,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,773,939. The company has a 50-day moving average of C$45.42 and a 200 day moving average of C$46.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.64. The stock has a market cap of C$95.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.89. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12-month low of C$40.02 and a 12-month high of C$56.49.

Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) (NYSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported C$0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.92 by C$0.05. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 20.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 3.833989 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Canadian Natural Resources

In other news, Senior Officer Mark Allen Stainthorpe sold 81,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.98, for a total transaction of C$3,643,380.00. Also, Senior Officer Dwayne Frederick Giggs sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$48.70, for a total transaction of C$97,405.40. Insiders sold 137,152 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,845 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.26% 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).