Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Declares Dividend Increase - C$0.59 Per Share

Key Points

• Canadian Natural Resources raised its quarterly dividend to C$0.5875 per share (record Dec. 12, payable Jan. 6), a 37.6% increase from the prior quarter and implying an annualized yield of about 7.5%.
• The payout looks sustainable: the company has increased dividends for 24 consecutive years, carries a payout ratio near 71%, and analysts expect roughly $2.4–$2.5 in EPS next year, suggesting continued coverage.
• Shares fell about 1.3% to $31.47 on the news; the company has a market cap near $65.6B and is heavily institutionally owned (about 74%), with large recent purchases by Goldman Sachs, Bank of Nova Scotia and T. Rowe Price.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of 0.5875 per share by the oil and gas producer on Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This is a 37.6% increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43.

Canadian Natural Resources has raised its dividend by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 24 consecutive years. Canadian Natural Resources has a payout ratio of 71.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Canadian Natural Resources to earn $2.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.71 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 69.0%.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.3%

CNQ stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $31.47. 6,761,145 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,540,999. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.96. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $35.03.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 19.00%.The company had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 240.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,776,594 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $701,519,000 after buying an additional 16,094,168 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 86.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,262,707 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $746,675,000 after buying an additional 11,259,267 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,968,120 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,354,219,000 after buying an additional 9,915,345 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $162,575,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,769,153 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,285,464,000 after buying an additional 4,805,451 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).

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