120,612 Shares in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Acquired by ARGA Investment Management LP

ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 120,612 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,855,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 309.1% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 896 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $36.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $24.65 and a 12 month high of $36.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.37 and its 200-day moving average is $32.09.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 14.90%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.5875 dividend. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. 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. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 74.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CNQ. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.50.

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.