Zacks Research Issues Positive Outlook for CNQ Earnings

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) – Zacks Research raised their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 26th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now expects that the oil and gas producer will post earnings per share of $0.67 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.59. The consensus estimate for Canadian Natural Resources’ current full-year earnings is $2.45 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Canadian Natural Resources’ Q3 2025 earnings at $0.64 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.48 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.66 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.53 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.56 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.73 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.48 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.07 EPS.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

CNQ opened at $30.55 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.14. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52-week low of $25.62 and a 52-week high of $41.29. The company has a market cap of $64.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,550,104 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,857,337,000 after acquiring an additional 7,372,718 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,002,235 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,778,729,000 after purchasing an additional 456,814 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 44,131,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,362,332,000 after purchasing an additional 550,242 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 36,963,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,139,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,052,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,051,210,000 after buying an additional 2,312,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.4117 dividend. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.88%.

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).