Cumberland Partners Ltd Raises Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 48.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 84,727 shares and bringing its total holding to 260,352 shares worth about $8.83 million.
• Canadian Natural Resources reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $0.85 versus the $0.74 consensus and revenue of $7.72 billion versus $7.57 billion expected.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, equal to a 5.1% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target price of $57.00.

Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 48.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,352 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 84,727 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $8,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. now owns 55,551 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,262 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 235,705 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,979,000 after purchasing an additional 9,192 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 162.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,099 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 3,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNQ opened at $48.67 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $47.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.94. The firm has a market cap of $101.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.47. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52 week low of $29.30 and a 52 week high of $51.34. 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 (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.The business had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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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