Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Acquired by Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV

Key Points

• Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 358,299 shares worth about $12.1 million.
• Canadian Natural Resources reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 topping estimates of $0.74 and revenue of $7.72 billion exceeding forecasts.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, equal to a 5.6% annualized yield, while analysts have recently turned more positive on the stock with several upgrades and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating.

Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 358,299 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 23,047 shares during the period. Canadian Natural Resources comprises 3.3% of Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $12,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNQ. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 179.2% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,616,347 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $393,213,000 after buying an additional 7,455,286 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 92,486,389 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,957,252,000 after buying an additional 1,744,290 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 17.6% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,172,873 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $293,165,000 after buying an additional 1,371,122 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 17.4% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 8,372,021 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $267,665,000 after buying an additional 1,242,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 11.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 9,614,291 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $307,344,000 after buying an additional 983,892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ opened at $44.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $29.30 and a 52-week high of $51.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.73. The company has a market cap of $92.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 18th. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is currently 49.59%.

Key Headlines Impacting Canadian Natural Resources

Here are the key news stories impacting Canadian Natural Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Canadian Natural Resources beat Q1 expectations, with earnings and revenue coming in above analyst estimates; that kind of outperformance can support the stock as investors reward better-than-expected operating results. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from “market perform” to “outperform,” while Zacks Research also raised its view to “strong-buy,” signaling improved analyst confidence in CNQ’s outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.625 per share, underscoring its cash-return profile and offering investors a 5.6% annualized yield, which can attract income-focused buyers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CNQ also released first-quarter results showing strong revenue but softer profitability metrics versus last year, including lower gross profit, operating profit, and EPS year over year, which may temper enthusiasm even after the earnings beat. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNQ. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.00.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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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