Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Sold by Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 24,982 shares and leaving it with 2,126,037 shares valued at about $73 million.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected Q1 results, with earnings of $0.85 per share versus $0.74 expected and revenue of $7.72 billion, while analysts now forecast full-year EPS of 4.2.
• Canadian Natural Resources also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share payable July 7, implying an annualized yield of 5.5%; Wall Street currently rates the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $57.

Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,126,037 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 24,982 shares during the period. Canadian Natural Resources accounts for about 2.4% of Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.10% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $73,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,758,445 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $228,729,000 after purchasing an additional 315,460 shares during the period. SCP Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at about $1,144,000. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $869,000. Numerai GP LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 102.5% in the third quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 77,164 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,466,000 after purchasing an additional 39,049 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.1% in the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,042,659 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $33,240,000 after purchasing an additional 31,154 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $45.32 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $46.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.37. The stock has a market cap of $94.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.45. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a fifty-two week low of $29.30 and a fifty-two week high of $51.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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, beating 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 17.49%. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CNQ. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources 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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