Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ) Stock Analysis & Winston Score

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) is one of the largest oil and gas producers in Canada. The company pulls crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids out of the ground, mainly in Alberta's oil sands, as well as conventional fields across Western Canada and offshore assets in the North Sea and West Africa. Its customers are refineries and energy traders that buy raw hydrocarbons to turn into fuels and other products.

CNQ makes money by selling the oil and gas it produces, so its revenue rises and falls with commodity prices. The company is known for owning its assets outright and running them with tight cost control, which gives it lower break-even costs than many peers — a key competitive advantage. CNQ operates primarily in Canada, with a market cap around $81 billion, making it one of North America's largest independent energy producers. The biggest risk the company faces is a sustained drop in global oil prices, which would directly squeeze its margins and cash flow.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

3 trades / 12mo

0 Congressional buys and 3 sells on CNQ in the last 12 months.

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Score breakdown

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Quality

Gross Margin

32.1%

Modest — 32.1% gross margin

Operating Margin

24.7%

Excellent — 24.7% operating margin

ROCE

6.0%

Weak — 6.0% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales YoY

-9.1%

Shrinking sales (-9.1% YoY)

EPS YoY

+29.6%

Earnings growing fast (29.6% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

EPS Consistency

4/8 quarters

Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

136%

Turns 136% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

15.2%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (15.2%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

0.39

Conservative — low debt load (0.39)

Interest Cover

12.21x

Comfortably covers interest (12.2x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

9.2x

no trend

Attractive valuation — P/E 9.2

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

P/E vs Forward

-2.3

SLOWING

Earnings expected to fall — forward P/E higher than today

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Dividends

Dividend Yield

4.32%

no trend

Healthy income — 4.32% yield

Generous yield. Worth checking whether the payout is sustainable.

Dividend Growth

+7.7%

no trend

Dividend growing modestly (7.7% YoY)

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