Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ is Canoe Financial LP’s 9th Largest Position

Canoe Financial LP lessened its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,588,945 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 132,088 shares during the period. Canadian Natural Resources accounts for approximately 2.6% of Canoe Financial LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Canoe Financial LP owned about 0.27% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $189,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.8% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,616,219 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,654,000 after acquiring an additional 43,356 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,716,038 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,883,000 after purchasing an additional 33,609 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 9.1% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,718,220 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,946,000 after purchasing an additional 143,550 shares in the last quarter. SCP Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the third quarter worth $1,144,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,593,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

NYSE CNQ opened at $50.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $104.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.96. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 24.48%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CNQ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Evercore lowered Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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.