Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.41 Per Share

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 7th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of 0.4117 per share by the oil and gas producer on Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This is a 6.1% increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39.

Canadian Natural Resources has increased its dividend by an average of 28.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 23 years. Canadian Natural Resources has a dividend payout ratio of 58.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Canadian Natural Resources to earn $2.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.1%.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ opened at $28.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1 year low of $25.62 and a 1 year high of $41.29. The firm has a market cap of $59.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNQ. Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Tudor Pickering lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.00.

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).