Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Sold by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Key Points

• Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its stake in Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) by 3.4%, selling 48,788 shares and leaving it with 1,384,034 shares valued at about $46.85 million (CNQ is its 27th largest holding).
• Several large institutions boosted positions — notably Vanguard (now ~92.49M shares) and Massachusetts Financial Services (up 179.2% to ~11.62M shares) — leaving institutional ownership at roughly 74.03%.
• Operationally CNQ beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.59 vs. $0.53; revenue $6.89B vs. $6.64B), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.625 (annualized $2.50, ~5.8% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $57 price target.

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,384,034 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 48,788 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources makes up approximately 1.4% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned approximately 0.07% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $46,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 92,486,389 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,957,252,000 after buying an additional 1,744,290 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 7,455,286 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 11.4% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 983,892 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,304,783 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $297,402,000 after purchasing an additional 934,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 17.6% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,371,122 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $42.93 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.55. The stock has a market cap of $89.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $27.93 and a 52-week high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.64 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 24.48%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th were issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNQ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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