HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 56,496 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 59.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,806 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,496 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $5,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNQ. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 6.1% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 5,753 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 26,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 26,308 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.2% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 17,886 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 11,794 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $45.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.09 and its 200 day moving average is $40.43. The company has a market cap of $95.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $29.30 and a 1 year high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released 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 return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.The business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CNQ shares. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

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.