19,796 Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Sold by Baskin Financial Services Inc.

Key Points

• Baskin Financial Services reduced its CNQ stake by 2.1%, selling 19,796 shares and retaining 933,844 shares valued at approximately $43.9 million, or 3.5% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors own 74.03% of Canadian Natural Resources, with several large funds—including Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund and Swiss National Bank—recently increasing their positions.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $57 price target. CNQ shares recently traded at $54.15, while the company reported quarterly earnings above estimates and offers a 4.6% dividend yield.

Baskin Financial Services Inc. lowered its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 933,844 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 19,796 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources comprises approximately 3.5% of Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $43,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,826,578,000 after buying an additional 3,397,500 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter worth about $1,411,619,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.4% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 16,459,772 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $784,278,000 after acquiring an additional 223,444 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.1% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 8,238,632 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $325,426,000 after acquiring an additional 244,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,011,862 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $341,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded up $0.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $54.15. The stock had a trading volume of 2,110,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,005,927. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.59. The company has a market capitalization of $111.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $29.68 and a 12 month high of $54.19.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company had revenue of $14.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.40 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of C$0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, marketing and sale of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional petroleum assets, heavy crude oil operations, and oil sands projects that produce bitumen and synthetic crude oil.

The company's principal operations are located in Western Canada, including oil sands and conventional assets in Alberta and natural gas properties in Alberta and British Columbia.

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