Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. cut its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 47.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 54,750 shares and leaving it with 60,800 shares worth about $2.06 million.
• Despite that trim, institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding about 74.03% of the stock. Several firms recently increased their CNQ positions.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: CNQ has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $57, while the company also reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and announced a $0.625 per share quarterly dividend (5.2% annualized yield).

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 47.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,800 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 54,750 shares during the quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $2,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 8,336 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 13,996 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CNQ. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $47.75 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.83. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $29.30 and a 52-week high of $51.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

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.

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