BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• British Columbia Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 62.2%, acquiring an additional 1,842,497 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total to 4,802,459 shares.
• Canadian Natural Resources declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4269 per share, which represents an increase from the previous quarterly dividend and yields 5.5%.
• Analysts' consensus rating for Canadian Natural Resources is a "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $62.00, supported by multiple firms reaffirming their "outperform" ratings.

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 62.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,802,459 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,842,497 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources comprises 0.9% of BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 0.23% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $147,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 253.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,307 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 104.0% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $68,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $31.32. 2,280,600 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,444,924. The company has a market cap of $65.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.05. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a one year low of $24.65 and a one year high of $37.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.97 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 19.00%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4269 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.64%.

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).