Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Position Lowered by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its Canadian Natural Resources stake by 7.5% in the first quarter, selling 2.15 million shares and retaining 26.75 million shares valued at approximately $1.30 billion.
• Canadian Natural Resources reported quarterly earnings of $0.85 per share, exceeding the $0.74 consensus estimate, while revenue of $7.72 billion also topped expectations.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.625, equivalent to $2.50 annually and a 5.6% yield. Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $57.00.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,746,244 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 2,153,566 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources makes up about 1.1% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 1.29% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $1,303,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,246,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 378,046 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $18,422,000 after acquiring an additional 44,000 shares during the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Cypress Capital Group raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 108,283 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,277,000 after acquiring an additional 10,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Diest Capital LLC acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter worth $288,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 3.6%

NYSE:CNQ opened at $44.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $29.30 and a 12-month high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CNQ. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Company 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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