ARGA Investment Management LP Invests $3.86 Million in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 120,612 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,855,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.4% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 3,003,542 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,051,714 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 41,581,125 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,304,267,000 after purchasing an additional 316,933 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.3% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 19.8% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $36.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $75.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $36.28.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 18.93%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.5875 dividend. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lowered Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.50.

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.