American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 247,352 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 29.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,097,473 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 247,352 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.05% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $35,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNQ. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $162,575,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,742,099 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,852,024,000 after purchasing an additional 3,003,542 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 19.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,146,792 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $548,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,832,155 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 10.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,359,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $855,414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546,233 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.5% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,939,585 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,505,303,000 after buying an additional 2,051,714 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Evercore lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Desjardins cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $46.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $37.85 and its 200-day moving average is $34.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.86. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $46.85. The company has a market capitalization of $96.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.63.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 18.24%. The business had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.53%.

Key Stories Impacting Canadian Natural Resources

Here are the key news stories impacting Canadian Natural Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, record production and dividend bump — CNQ beat consensus EPS and revenue, reported record production (~1.66 mmboe/d), and raised the quarterly dividend ~6.4%, signaling strong cash generation and a shareholder‑friendly stance. Canadian Natural: Huge Gains, Dividend Increase, Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/target lift — RBC Capital raised its price target to $65 and kept an Outperform rating, implying meaningful upside versus current levels and likely supporting the rally. RBC price target raise (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Oil price tailwind — WTI above $75 amid geopolitical tensions, which benefits CNQ’s North American production profile and helps near‑term cash flow. Oil Prices Above $75 (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings detail & mixed metrics — official releases and transcripts confirm the beat, higher revenue and stronger operating cash flow, but operating profit and EPS were down YoY in some disclosures, creating a more nuanced profitability picture. Q4 results (Newsfile)
• Neutral Sentiment: Call/transcript available — The Q4 earnings call transcript and materials provide management color on production, capital spending and the updated capital allocation framework for investors doing deeper diligence. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Pause of $8.25B oil‑sands expansion — Management paused a major oil‑sands expansion, citing carbon‑policy uncertainty; this could limit future growth optionality and highlights regulatory/transition risk for the company’s heavier assets. Pause of oil-sands expansion (Globe & Mail)

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE: CNQ) is a Calgary-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Established in the early 1970s and publicly listed in Canada and the United States, the company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its asset base spans conventional and unconventional reservoirs and includes oil sands mining and in-situ thermal projects, midstream processing and upgrading capacity, and related field operations.

The company’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it develops heavy crude, bitumen from oil sands and conventional light crude and natural gas resources.