Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,167,063 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 25,205 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $76,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNQ. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 15.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,852,785 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $837,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,013 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,642,676 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $752,932,000 after acquiring an additional 442,986 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 7,640,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $494,262,000 after acquiring an additional 2,305,000 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,311,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $472,806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,015 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,066,855 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $456,999,000 after purchasing an additional 1,733,988 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CNQ. Desjardins lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $77.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,599,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,195,675. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $52.66 and a twelve month high of $82.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $74.12 and its 200-day moving average is $67.79.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.13. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 20.15% and a return on equity of 21.74%. The business had revenue of $7.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.774 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.25%.

Canadian Natural Resources Company 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).