Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments cut its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 21.3% in Q3, selling 438,117 shares and leaving 1,614,943 shares valued at about $51.65 million; institutional ownership is roughly 74.03%.
• Canadian Natural beat quarterly expectations with $0.59 EPS and $6.89B revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.625 (annualized $2.50) for a ~5.5% yield with an ex-dividend date of March 20.
• The stock trades near $45.75 with a market cap of ~$95.4B and a P/E of 12.4, while analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with an average target price of $50.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 21.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,614,943 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 438,117 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.08% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $51,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNQ. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 309.1% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 896 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3,182.7% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of CNQ stock opened at $45.75 on Wednesday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $47.47. The company has a market cap of $95.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.37.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Desjardins downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.00.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CNQ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.