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Canadian Natural (CNQ) Stock Up Since Q2 Earnings & Sales Beat
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Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ - Free Report) have gained 3.2% since its second-quarter 2021 earnings announcement on Aug 5.
This uptrend was led by the company’s better-than-expected bottom-line and top-line performances and its solid free cash flow guidance for 2021 owing to anexcellent business performance as well as a more optimistic commodity pricing outlook for the rest of 2021.
Behind the Earnings Headlines
Canadian Natural reported second-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings per share of $1.01, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 77 cents. The bottom line also reversed the year-ago loss of 47 cents per share. This outperformance is attributable to increased natural gas output from North America and higher commodity price realizations.
Total revenues of $5.31 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.26 billion. Moreover, the top line improved from $2.07 billion sales a year ago.
During the quarter under review, the company, which is committed to adding shareholder value, returned C$557 million via dividends.
The company’s board of directors cleared a quarterly dividend of 47 Canadian cents a share, payable Oct 5, 2021 to its shareholders of record as of Sep 17, 2021.
Production & Prices
Canadian Natural reported quarterly production of 1,141,739 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d), down 2.04% from the prior-year quarter. Oil and NGLs output (accounting for more than 76.4% of total volumes) fell to 872,718 barrels per day (Bbl/d) from 921,895Bbl/d a year ago.
Crude oil and NGLs production from operations in North America including synthetic crude oil production of 361,707Bbl/d and bitumen output of 258,551Bbl/d totaled 620,258Bbl/d, comparing unfavorably with the year-ago quarter’s 677,125Bbl/d due to the timing of the planned Horizon turnaround and Scotford de-coking.
Natural gas volumes recorded an 11.4% year-over-year rise from 1,462 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) to 1,614MMcf/d in the quarter. Production in North America summed 1,594MMcf/d compared with 1,431MMcf/d in the prior year.
Canadian Natural’s realized natural gas price surged 56.2% to C$3.17 per thousand cubic feet from the year-ago level of C$2.03. Moreover, realized oil and NGLs price jumped 222.6% to C$61.2 per barrel from C$18.97 in the second quarter of 2020.
Canadian Natural Resources Limited Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Total expenses incurred in the quarter were C$4,528 million, higher than C$3,479 million recorded a year ago. Increase in production expenses along with transportation, blending and feedstock costs escalated the overall costs. Canadian Natural’s Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading operating expenses increased 43.5% year over year to C$25.46 per barrel.
In the reported quarter, capital expenditure (including net acquisition costs) totaled C$1,285 million.
Balance Sheet
As of Jun 30, the company had C$168 million in cash and cash equivalents, and a long-term debt of C$16,031 million, representing total debt to total capital of 31.9%.
2021 Guidance
Canadian Natural’s 2021 capex view is increased $275 million from the prior guidance to C$3.47 billion, indicating a production target of 1,220-1,267 thousand BOE/d range.
After calculating dividends and anticipated capital expenditures excluding net acquisitions, annual free cash flow is targeted in the range of $7.2-$7.7 billion for 2021, based on an annual average WTI of $66 per barrel.
Image: Bigstock
Canadian Natural (CNQ) Stock Up Since Q2 Earnings & Sales Beat
Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ - Free Report) have gained 3.2% since its second-quarter 2021 earnings announcement on Aug 5.
This uptrend was led by the company’s better-than-expected bottom-line and top-line performances and its solid free cash flow guidance for 2021 owing to anexcellent business performance as well as a more optimistic commodity pricing outlook for the rest of 2021.
Behind the Earnings Headlines
Canadian Natural reported second-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings per share of $1.01, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 77 cents. The bottom line also reversed the year-ago loss of 47 cents per share. This outperformance is attributable to increased natural gas output from North America and higher commodity price realizations.
Total revenues of $5.31 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.26 billion. Moreover, the top line improved from $2.07 billion sales a year ago.
During the quarter under review, the company, which is committed to adding shareholder value, returned C$557 million via dividends.
The company’s board of directors cleared a quarterly dividend of 47 Canadian cents a share, payable Oct 5, 2021 to its shareholders of record as of Sep 17, 2021.
Production & Prices
Canadian Natural reported quarterly production of 1,141,739 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d), down 2.04% from the prior-year quarter. Oil and NGLs output (accounting for more than 76.4% of total volumes) fell to 872,718 barrels per day (Bbl/d) from 921,895Bbl/d a year ago.
Crude oil and NGLs production from operations in North America including synthetic crude oil production of 361,707Bbl/d and bitumen output of 258,551Bbl/d totaled 620,258Bbl/d, comparing unfavorably with the year-ago quarter’s 677,125Bbl/d due to the timing of the planned Horizon turnaround and Scotford de-coking.
Natural gas volumes recorded an 11.4% year-over-year rise from 1,462 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) to 1,614MMcf/d in the quarter. Production in North America summed 1,594MMcf/d compared with 1,431MMcf/d in the prior year.
Canadian Natural’s realized natural gas price surged 56.2% to C$3.17 per thousand cubic feet from the year-ago level of C$2.03. Moreover, realized oil and NGLs price jumped 222.6% to C$61.2 per barrel from C$18.97 in the second quarter of 2020.
Canadian Natural Resources Limited Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Canadian Natural Resources Limited price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Canadian Natural Resources Limited Quote
Costs & Capital Expenditure
Total expenses incurred in the quarter were C$4,528 million, higher than C$3,479 million recorded a year ago. Increase in production expenses along with transportation, blending and feedstock costs escalated the overall costs. Canadian Natural’s Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading operating expenses increased 43.5% year over year to C$25.46 per barrel.
In the reported quarter, capital expenditure (including net acquisition costs) totaled C$1,285 million.
Balance Sheet
As of Jun 30, the company had C$168 million in cash and cash equivalents, and a long-term debt of C$16,031 million, representing total debt to total capital of 31.9%.
2021 Guidance
Canadian Natural’s 2021 capex view is increased $275 million from the prior guidance to C$3.47 billion, indicating a production target of 1,220-1,267 thousand BOE/d range.
After calculating dividends and anticipated capital expenditures excluding net acquisitions, annual free cash flow is targeted in the range of $7.2-$7.7 billion for 2021, based on an annual average WTI of $66 per barrel.
Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
Canadian Natural sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), currently. Other top-ranked players in the energy space include Devon Energy Corporation (DVN - Free Report) , Matador Resources Company (MTDR - Free Report) and Continental Resources, Inc. , each presently flaunting a Zacks Rank of 1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.