Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

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. grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 794,723 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing 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 quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNQ. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 403.7% during the 1st quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 4,738,577 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $145,828,000 after buying an additional 3,797,846 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $68,342,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 33,100,240 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,018,469,000 after buying an additional 1,519,523 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:CNQ traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $31.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,006,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,436,894. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $31.25 and a 200 day moving average of $30.32. The company has a market cap of $64.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.05. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $37.91.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4269 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $1.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.00.

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).