Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 98.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,318 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 3,609,537 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $1,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CNQ. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 595.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 5,982 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,468,492 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $137,889,000 after purchasing an additional 282,696 shares during the period. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 181,893 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,615,000 after purchasing an additional 6,616 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 22,934 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 7,604 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CNQ. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $34.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.33. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $37.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 16.92%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.4227 per share. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

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).

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