First Manhattan CO. LLC. Trims Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,419,735 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 28,210 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned approximately 0.07% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $44,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of CNQ stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.53. The stock had a trading volume of 5,543,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,418,095. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $28.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.78. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $38.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 20.07%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.4227 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.54%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is currently 63.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.00.

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).