Capital International Investors Acquires 652,303 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Capital International Investors raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 68.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,609,863 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 652,303 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned approximately 0.08% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $54,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. LOM Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $46.37 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.10. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $29.30 and a twelve month high of $51.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.45.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CNQ shares. Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources 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.