Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 114,287 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 594.8%, acquiring an additional 114,287 shares and totaling $4.1 million in holdings.
• Canadian Natural Resources recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.4269 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.6%.
• Analysts have set an average price target of $62.00 for Canadian Natural Resources, with ratings including one "Strong Buy" and several "Outperform" ratings.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 594.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,501 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 114,287 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $4,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 56,154 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 10,436 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 239,932 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,407,000 after purchasing an additional 95,793 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $366,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 84,787 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,617,000 after purchasing an additional 8,148 shares during the period. Finally, Crestline Management LP boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 50,977 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 8,391 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $31.21. The company had a trading volume of 4,620,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,139,651. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a fifty-two week low of $24.65 and a fifty-two week high of $37.91. 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 market cap of $65.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.39.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a $0.4269 dividend. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNQ. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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 research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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).