Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Takes $1.41 Billion Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital disclosed a new position in Canadian Natural Resources, buying 28.96 million shares worth about $1.41 billion. The stake represents roughly 1.39% of the company and was Arrowstreet’s 19th-largest holding.
• Other institutional investors also increased exposure, and hedge funds and other institutions now own about 74.03% of CNQ shares. Notable buyers included Bank of Nova Scotia, First Trust Advisors, and NewEdge Wealth.
• Canadian Natural Resources posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.85 per share on revenue of $7.72 billion, and the stock has also been supported by a 5.3% dividend yield. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $57.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 28,956,345 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,619,000. Canadian Natural Resources comprises about 0.8% of Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 1.39% of Canadian Natural Resources at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capula Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,339,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 49.9% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,565,392 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $320,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,184,892 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 7.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 96,599 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,707,000 after buying an additional 6,404 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,134,241 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $55,272,000 after buying an additional 68,421 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 65.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 618,454 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $30,146,000 after buying an additional 245,332 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Desjardins raised Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $47.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $29.30 and a 12-month high of $51.34. The company has a market cap of $97.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $43.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.18.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.03%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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.

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