American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 4.3%, owning 794,723 shares valued at $24.45 million after acquiring additional shares.
• Canadian Natural Resources recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4269 per share, marking a rise from the previous dividend, and yielding approximately 5.5%.
• In its latest earnings report, the company posted an EPS of $0.51, exceeding estimates, but revenues were below expectations at $6.39 billion.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 794,723 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 32,692 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $24,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 17,800 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter. Natixis bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $307,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 55,045 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 52.8% during the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,409 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 10,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,024,400 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,601,000 after purchasing an additional 74,926 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CNQ. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of CNQ traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,688,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,436,531. The company's 50-day moving average is $31.29 and its 200-day moving average is $30.32. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $37.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.4269 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.93%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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).