Cetera Investment Advisers Boosts Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,787 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,148 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $2,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CNQ. Raymond James raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 0.5%

CNQ stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.72. 7,796,611 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,502,883. The company has a market capitalization of $64.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a fifty-two week low of $24.65 and a fifty-two week high of $38.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.65.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 20.07%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.4227 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.50%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.92%.

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).