Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Sold by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank trimmed its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 6.7%, selling 65,788 shares and leaving it with 912,594 shares worth about $30.95 million after the fourth-quarter 13F filing.
• Canadian Natural topped quarterly estimates with $0.59 EPS (consensus $0.53) and $6.89 billion in revenue, and analysts forecast roughly 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.625 (annualized $2.50), a yield of about 5.6% and a payout ratio near 49.6%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 912,594 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 65,788 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $30,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. LOM Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $44.25 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $45.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $27.93 and a 12 month high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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. Evercore cut Canadian Natural Resources from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial cut Canadian Natural Resources from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources has a consensus 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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