Bank of Nova Scotia Has $320.19 Million Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 49.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,565,392 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,184,892 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources comprises about 0.5% of Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $320,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 146,331,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,956,204,000 after acquiring an additional 35,067,143 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 179.2% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,616,347 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $393,213,000 after acquiring an additional 7,455,286 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 11,020.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,735 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $124,672,000 after acquiring an additional 3,647,636 shares during the last quarter. BCV Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,309,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $73,628,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ opened at $47.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $29.30 and a 12 month high of $51.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.18. The stock has a market cap of $97.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Desjardins raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

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.