Capula Management Ltd Buys New Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Capula Management Ltd opened a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter, buying 48,008 shares valued at about $2.34 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their stakes, and overall 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Analysts remain moderately bullish: the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $57.00, while the company recently beat earnings expectations and continues to pay a 5.3% dividend yield.

Capula Management Ltd purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 48,008 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $2,339,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 8,336 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 13,996 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNQ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

NYSE:CNQ opened at $47.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52 week low of $29.30 and a 52 week high of $51.34. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $43.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.03%.

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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