ARGA Investment Management LP Purchases 25,199 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• ARGA Investment Management boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 20.9%, purchasing 25,199 shares to hold 145,811 shares worth about $4.94 million per its latest SEC filing.
• Canadian Natural topped estimates for the quarter with EPS of $0.59 (vs. $0.53 expected) and revenue of $6.89 billion, reporting a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 17.84%.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.625 (annualized $2.50), yielding about 5.5% with a payout ratio near 49.6%.

ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,811 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 25,199 shares during the quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $4,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tacita Capital Inc raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 5,753 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 26,308 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 17,886 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 11,794 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,939 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $45.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.08 and a 200 day moving average of $38.06. The firm has a market cap of $93.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $27.93 and a 1 year high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 17.84%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is 49.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CNQ. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Raymond James Financial lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited NYSE: CNQ is a Calgary-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Established in the early 1970s and publicly listed in Canada and the United States, the company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its asset base spans conventional and unconventional reservoirs and includes oil sands mining and in-situ thermal projects, midstream processing and upgrading capacity, and related field operations.

The company's operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it develops heavy crude, bitumen from oil sands and conventional light crude and natural gas resources.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CNQ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.