Fact based stock research
Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ)

CA1363851017

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

Canadian Natural Resources stock research in summary

cnrl.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 48 (worse than 52% compared with investment alternatives), Canadian Natural Resources (Oil & Gas Production, Canada) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Canadian Natural Resources are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 52 (better than 52% of alternatives), are safely financed (Safety Rank of 72, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 25). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 48, is a hold recommendation based on Canadian Natural Resources's financial characteristics. As the company Canadian Natural Resources's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 52) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 25) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 72), it may be a safer investment because companies with low debt can better withstand times of crises. Yet the good value, better than 52% of comparable companies, may also indicate that the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity and the downside is limited due to below-average financing risks. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	52
Growth Rank	25
Safety Rank	72
Combined Rank	48

Country	Canada
Industry	Oil & Gas Production
Index	Low Emissions, Low Waste, Oil & Gas, Recycling, Water Efficiency, TSX Composite
Size class	X-Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

31-Jul-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Canadian Natural Resources

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	41	39	42	52
GROWTH
GROWTH	21	67	18	25
SAFETY
SAFETY	65	62	62	72
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	49	52	40	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	29	58	24	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 31-Jul-2025. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 31-Mar-2025. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Canadian Natural Resources is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	41	39	42	52
GROWTH
GROWTH	21	67	18	25
SAFETY
SAFETY	65	62	62	72
COMBINED
COMBINED	29	67	15	48

Last update of combined financial performance: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Canadian Natural Resources the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 52 (better than 52% compared with alternatives), Canadian Natural Resources shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Canadian Natural Resources. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 58 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 58% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Canadian Natural Resources's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 30, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 30% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 71% of alternatives (only 29% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 22% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 52, is a buy recommendation based on Canadian Natural Resources's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	26	26	48	29
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	28	33	41	58
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	59	30	24	30
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	87	77	82	78
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	41	39	42	52

Last update of Value Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Canadian Natural Resources; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 25 (better than 25% compared with alternatives), Canadian Natural Resources shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four metrics below average for Canadian Natural Resources. Sales Growth has a rank of 4, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 96% of its competitors. The same is valid for Profit Growth, with a rank of 48, and Capital Growth with 32. In addition, Stock Returns have a below market rank of 37, which means that the stock returns have recently been below 63% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 25, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. These are all bad growth momentum indicators. These are negative signals for investors interested in growth companies. Value is likely good for this company, as investors may have left this stock in the cold. If that is the case, investors should look at the company's outlook, especially Sentiment performance, because it may be a turnaround situation that could entail above-average stock returns in the future. But it remains a risky bet, as no growth signals are in the green zone yet. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is low here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	6	10	38	4
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	92	66	34	48
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	24	60	10	32
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	47	93	46	37
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	21	67	18	25

Last update of Growth Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Canadian Natural Resources.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 72 (better than 72% compared with alternatives), the company Canadian Natural Resources has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of Canadian Natural Resources is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for Canadian Natural Resources. Leverage is at a rank of 62, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 62% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 84, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 84% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 39, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 61% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 72 (better than 72% compared with alternatives), Canadian Natural Resources has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for Canadian Natural Resources. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge with Canadian Natural Resources and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	51	58	60	62
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	73	58	42	39
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	39	57	73	84
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	65	62	62	72

Last update of Safety Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Canadian Natural Resources and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2022	2023	2024	2025
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	53	25	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	39	16	46	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	23	73	73	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	60	71	57	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	49	52	40	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Canadian Natural Resources.
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