Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Acquired by Baird Financial Group Inc.

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 position in 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 fund 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 253.2% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,307 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 104.0% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $68,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

CNQ traded down $0.06 on Monday, reaching $30.31. The company had a trading volume of 8,075,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,727,782. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $37.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.37.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.97 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 19.00% and a return on equity of 19.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.4269 per share. This represents a $1.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CNQ shares. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources 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).