We recently published a list of Billionaire’s 15 Favorite Oil and Gas Stocks Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) stands against other billionaire’s favorite oil and gas stocks right now.
The oil and gas industry is a significant driver of the global economy, influencing industries, transportation, and geopolitical dynamics. However, the past year has been nothing short of a roller coaster for the sector, with high volatility coming from factors such as geopolitical tensions, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, and a dampening demand due to a global economic slowdown.
READ ALSO: 11 Best Natural Gas Stocks To Buy Now
Brent crude prices have recently hit a 6-month low as US crude oil stockpiles posted a larger-than-expected build, coupled with worries about a looming return of more OPEC+ barrels to the market and President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. The global oil and gas majors have already struggled with decreasing prices in 2024 and the recent decline has only added to their troubles. Things could get even worse, as the IEA expects Brent crude prices to fall further to $66 a barrel in 2026.
Meanwhile, as the US oil and gas production hits record highs, President Trump has made calls to “Drill, Baby, Drill” and pump those numbers up even higher, as he seeks to make the country self-sufficient in energy. However, not everyone seems to be on. Instead of continuously increasing supply and hence plunging prices even lower, the oil industry remains focused on achieving efficiency gains and maintaining capital discipline, while also rewarding loyal shareholders through dividends and share repurchase programs. According to a report by Janus Henderson, companies in the energy sector distributed over $49 billion in dividends during the third quarter of 2024, up from $32.2 billion three years ago.
However, the same cannot be said of the natural gas sector. US gas producers, which curbed production last year due to multi-year low prices, are now adding gas rigs and boosting production as the price has crossed the $4.6 mark this week. The slowing output in 2024, a booming LNG industry, and fast-depleting inventories during the coldest winter in years have driven gas prices up by over 150% over the last year.
Another significant growth driver for America’s natural gas industry is the ongoing artificial intelligence boom and the accompanying data centers, which consume 10 to 50 times the amount of energy per square foot of a typical commercial office building. These energy intensive facilities could consume as much as 9% of all energy generated in the US by 2030, and this energy needs to come from a relatively clean, flexible, and reliable source that is abundantly available in the form of natural gas. According to energy data provider Enverus, a total of 80 new gas power plants could be constructed in America by the end of the decade, adding about 46 GW of new capacity – 20% higher than the gas capacity additions in the last five years. Several gas majors are now even bypassing traditional utilities and building power plants to connect directly to data centers, a move that could reshape the industry in the years to come, if it pays off.
Methodology
To collect data for this article, we scanned Insider Monkey’s database of billionaires’ stock holdings and picked the top 15 companies operating in the oil and gas sector with the highest number of billionaire investors in Q4 of 2024.
At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A vast oil rig pumping crude oil during a sunset, emphasizing the company’s focus on oil & gas exploration and production.
Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)
Number of Billionaire Holders: 14
Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) is a senior crude oil and natural gas production company with continuing operations in its core areas located in Western Canada, the UK portion of the North Sea, and Offshore Africa. The company boasts total proved reserves of 15.2 billion BOE and total proved plus probable reserves of 20.1 billion BOE as of year end 2024, both of which increased 9% from year end 2023 levels.
2024 proved to be a strong year for Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ), as the company achieved record annual average production of over 1.36 million boed in 2024, which includes record annual liquids production of over one million barrels per day. Moreover, the company reported an adjusted EPS of C$2.34 in Q4 2024, beating analysts’ estimates of C$2.15 per share. CNQ remains committed to its shareholders and returned approximately $7.1 billion in 2024. The company raised its quarterly dividend by 4.4% to C$0.5875 per share this month, making 2025 the 25th consecutive year of dividend increases.
Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) has been on an aggressive shopping spree, taking advantage of opportunistic acquisitions and rapidly growing its potential future cash flow. The company closed the acquisition of Chevron’s Alberta assets at the end of 2024, including a 20% interest in AOSP and a 70% operated working interest in light crude oil and liquids-rich natural gas assets in the Duvernay play.
Overall, CNQ ranks 6th on our list of billionaire’s favorite oil and gas stocks right now. While we acknowledge the potential for CNQ to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CNQ but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
