March 20, 2025
Top 10 Stock Canadian Natural Resources Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
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.
Snapshot: Canadian Natural Resources – Top 10 Stock in Oil & Gas Mining and Production
Canadian Natural Resources is listed as a top 10 stock on March 20, 2025 in the market index Oil & Gas because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. As three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, it is a solid investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is low, despite a currently slow growth momentum. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 53 (high 53% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall buy recommendation for Canadian Natural Resources on March 20, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | Canada |
| Industry | Oil & Gas Production |
| Index | Low Emissions, Low Waste, Oil & Gas, Recycling, Water Efficiency, TSX Composite |
| Size class | XX-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Canadian Natural Resources Buy
| 360 METRICS | March 20, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 52 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 10 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 58 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 82 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 53 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 53 (better than 53% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Canadian Natural Resources are above average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Canadian Natural Resources. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 52, which means that the share price of Canadian Natural Resources is on the lower side compared with typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is lower than for 52% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The company is also safely financed with a Safety rank of 58. In addition, professional market sentiment is above average compared with other stock investment alternatives with a Sentiment Rank of 82. But the consolidated Growth Rank has a low rank of 10, which means that the company is below average in terms of growth and momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. 90 of its competitors have better growth. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 53, Canadian Natural Resources is better positioned than 53% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. Three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks show above-average performance. The stock has as good value (Value Rank of 52), secure financing practices (Safety Rank of 58), and positive market sentiment in the professional investor community (Sentiment Rank of 82). It is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is limited, and disappointments are less likely to occur. The company’s growth expectations are below the industry average (Growth Rank of 10), but that could also be temporary since professional investors remain optimistic despite the low growth numbers. The low price as reflected in the good Value Rank could indicate that the company's future is challenging. The below-par growth performance may be the reason for this. Companies that grow less are typically cheaper than fast-growing competitors. We recommend evaluating whether the future of Canadian Natural Resources is as difficult as the stock’s low price suggests, despite the positive professional investor sentiment. Since the professional community is optimistic, you might have less to worry about, and the stock may just go through a more challenging phase now, indicating good timing. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Canadian Natural Resources very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 82 (better than 82% compared with alternatives) for 2025, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Canadian Natural Resources is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Canadian Natural Resources. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 38 (worse than 62% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 87, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Canadian Natural Resources. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 100, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 100% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 63, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 63% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 82 (more positive than 82% compared with investment alternatives), Canadian Natural Resources has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: Canadian Natural Resources Stock Price Value better than average
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, where half the indicators are below and half above average for Canadian Natural Resources. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 53, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 53% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Canadian Natural Resources's revenue size. The same is valid for dividend yields with a Dividend Yield rank of 82, which means that dividends are expected to be higher than for 82% of comparable investments. On the other hand, the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) is less favorable than for 80% of alternatives (only 20% of peers have an even higher ratio). The same is valid for the Price-to-Profit (or Price / Earnings, P/E) ratio, which is higher than for 59% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive compared with the company's expected profit levels. ...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 somewhat surprising picture, because it means that profits are low while dividends are high. One interpretation could be that profits are expected to increase, justifying the high dividend payments. But it could also mean that the company desperately keeps the high dividends to avoid a collapsing share price. This would be a rather dangerous constellation. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Canadian Natural Resources Growth Momentum negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 10 (better than 10% compared with alternatives), Canadian Natural Resources shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little 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 18, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 82% of its competitors. The same is valid for Profit Growth, with a rank of 33, and Capital Growth with 29. In addition, Stock Returns have a below market rank of 40, which means that the stock returns have recently been below 60% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 10, is a sell 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. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Canadian Natural Resources Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | March 20, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 37 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 41 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 88 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 58 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 58 (better than 58% 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 just one indicator above average for Canadian Natural Resources. Liquidity is at 88, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 88% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 41, 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 59% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 37, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 63% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 58 (better than 58% compared with alternatives), Canadian Natural Resources has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Canadian Natural Resources Lowest Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | March 20, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 52 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 10 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 88 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 20 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 20 (worse than 80% compared with investment alternatives), Canadian Natural Resources (Oil & Gas Production, Canada) shares have lower 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 58, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 10). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 20, is a sell 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 10) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 58), 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. ...read more
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