Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Takes $4.75 Million Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 154,128 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $4,747,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNQ. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 27,065 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 9,745 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 76,108 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,349,000 after purchasing an additional 13,277 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 595.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,468,492 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $137,889,000 after purchasing an additional 282,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,109,432 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $746,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,945 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

NYSE CNQ traded up $0.66 on Friday, reaching $33.79. 12,786,356 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,634,122. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $29.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $70.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.03. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $24.65 and a 12 month high of $37.91.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.4227 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.00.

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).