Cumberland Partners Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 139.6% in the first quarter, adding 363,352 shares and bringing its total holding to 623,704 shares worth about $30.4 million.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.85 versus estimates of $0.74 and revenue of $7.72 billion versus $7.57 billion expected.
• Canadian Natural Resources also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 5.4%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a $57 average price target.

Cumberland Partners Ltd raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 139.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 623,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 363,352 shares during the period. Canadian Natural Resources comprises about 2.3% of Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $30,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 146,331,336 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,956,204,000 after acquiring an additional 35,067,143 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $1,411,619,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 179.2% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,616,347 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $393,213,000 after purchasing an additional 7,455,286 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 11,020.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,735 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $124,672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,826,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397,500 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.2%

CNQ opened at $46.45 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 business's 50 day moving average is $43.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.20. The firm has a market cap of $96.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CNQ. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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