American Trust Raises Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• American Trust increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) by 29.3% during the first quarter, owning 81,807 shares valued at approximately $2.52 million.
• Canadian Natural Resources recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4269 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend, with a 5.6% dividend yield.
• The company reported earnings of $0.51 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.44, despite revenue falling short of expectations at $6.39 billion.

American Trust grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 29.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,807 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 18,532 shares during the period. American Trust's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $2,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 240.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,776,594 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $701,519,000 after acquiring an additional 16,094,168 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 86.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,262,707 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $746,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,259,267 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,968,120 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,354,219,000 after purchasing an additional 9,915,345 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,769,153 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,285,464,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 403.7% during the 1st quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 4,738,577 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $145,828,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797,846 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.21. 4,754,214 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,211,665. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $24.65 and a 12 month high of $37.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $65.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.03.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 19.00% and a return on equity of 19.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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