Marietta Investment Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Key Points

• Marietta Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 71.9%, now holding 22,201 shares worth $684,000 after selling 56,710 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. and Mediolanum International Funds Ltd, increased their holdings significantly, indicating a 74.03% institutional ownership in the company.
• Canadian Natural Resources reported $0.81 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.4227, representing an annualized yield of 5.39%.

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 71.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,201 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 56,710 shares during the quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 253.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,307 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,493 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 104.0% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded up $0.53 during trading on Monday, reaching $31.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,047,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,096,398. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $37.91. The stock has a market cap of $66.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 1.03. The business's 50-day moving average is $31.70 and its 200 day moving average is $30.38. 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.4227 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.30%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CNQ shares. Raymond James Financial upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Profile

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).