Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Trims Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. significantly reduced its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 65.7%, selling over a million shares during the first quarter.
• Despite this sell-off, several other investors increased their stakes in CNQ, highlighting a mixed sentiment among institutional investors, with approximately 74.03% of the stock owned by institutional and hedge funds.
• Canadian Natural Resources announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.4269 per share, representing a yield of 5.4%, signaling confidence in its financial performance.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 65.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 591,617 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 1,133,343 shares during the quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $18,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% during the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 253.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,307 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 104.0% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

CNQ traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $31.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,700,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,457,600. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $31.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.37. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $37.91. The stock has a market cap of $64.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm earned $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, 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. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.00.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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).