Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 164,790 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 164,790 shares and leaving it with 6.21 million shares valued at about $210.5 million.
• Canadian Natural Resources reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, posting $0.85 per share versus the $0.74 consensus, on revenue of $7.72 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, implying an annualized payout of $2.50 and a yield of 5.6%. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $57.00.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,214,564 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 164,790 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.30% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $210,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% in the first 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 13,996 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $2,445,000 after buying an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $44.72 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.62 and a 200-day moving average of $41.18. The firm has a market cap of $93.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.45. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1-year low of $29.30 and a 1-year high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. ATB Cormark Capital Markets cut Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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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