Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Bought by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Bleakley Financial Group increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 59.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 78,161 shares worth about $2.65 million.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $0.85 EPS versus estimates of $0.74 and revenue of $7.72 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share that implies a 5.5% annual yield.
• Despite the positive results, CNQ shares were down 2.3% in Thursday trading, though analysts remain generally constructive with a Moderate Buy consensus and a $57 average target price.

Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 59.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,161 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 29,249 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $2,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNQ. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 179.2% in the 4th 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.9% in the 3rd 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 17.6% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,172,873 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $293,165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371,122 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 42,745,981 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,446,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,342,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 17.4% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 8,372,021 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $267,665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242,197 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of CNQ opened at $45.74 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $47.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.32. The stock has a market cap of $95.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.47. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $29.30 and a 12 month high of $51.34. 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 (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is 54.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNQ. ATB Cormark Capital Markets cut Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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