Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 65.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 181,121 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 341,337 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $5,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 5,165 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 81,954 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 7,065 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 55,045 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CNQ stock opened at $31.45 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $37.91. The company has a market capitalization of $65.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 1.03.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 16.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.4227 per share. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Canadian Natural Resources Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).