Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Sells 25,200 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Factory Mutual Insurance Co. reduced its position in Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) by 3.3%, selling 25,200 shares and now holds 747,803 shares valued at $25.313 million.
• CNQ boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.625 (annualized $2.50), implying a 5.4% yield and a payout ratio of about 49.6%.
• Analysts are split (six Buy, six Hold) but the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $57 target; CNQ recently beat EPS estimates ($0.59 vs. $0.53) and trades at a P/E of 12.56 with a ~$96.7 billion market cap.

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lessened its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 747,803 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 25,200 shares during the quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $25,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tacita Capital Inc grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 5,753 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 26,308 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 17,886 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,939 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,193 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CNQ shares. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNQ opened at $46.36 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $44.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.02. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $25.93 and a 1 year high of $51.34. The company has a market capitalization of $96.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 17.84%. The firm had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is currently 49.59%.

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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