Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) is Alberta Investment Management Corp's 10th Largest Position

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp reduced its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 7.5%, selling 430,492 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 5,311,147 shares.
• Canadian Natural Resources experienced a quarterly earnings per share of $0.81, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.73, while revenue totaled $6.96 billion against an expected $10.14 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4227, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.41, reflecting a 5.3% yield and a payout ratio of 67.06%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp trimmed its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,311,147 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 430,492 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources comprises approximately 1.1% of Alberta Investment Management Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned approximately 0.25% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $163,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $292,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,288,000. Avalon Capital Management acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $411,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.8% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 33,100,240 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,018,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.1% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 819,352 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,208,000 after acquiring an additional 46,977 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.99. 4,233,802 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,216,233. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $37.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.80 and a 200-day moving average of $30.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.05.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.4227 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.06%.

Canadian Natural Resources 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).