Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Acquires 247,498 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 5.6%, holding approximately $142.8 million worth of shares, making it the 29th largest position in their portfolio.
• Institutional investors own 74.03% of Canadian Natural Resources' stock, with significant increases in holdings from several firms including T. Rowe Price and Bank of Nova Scotia, the latter raising its position by 86.6%.
• Canadian Natural Resources declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.4269, resulting in a yield of 5.4%, which reflects a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,641,026 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 247,498 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources comprises approximately 0.7% of Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec owned 0.22% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $142,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 9.6% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 4,365 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 10.2% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 5,165 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 8.0% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 7,065 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.7% during the first quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 77,253 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ traded down $1.01 on Friday, reaching $30.36. The company had a trading volume of 8,461,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,656,417. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.37. The company has a market cap of $63.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $37.91.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.97 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 19.00% and a return on equity of 19.67%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a $0.4269 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is 60.64%.

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).