Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Sold by Guardian Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Guardian Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 6.2% during the first quarter, owning 533,520 shares valued at approximately $16.43 million.
• Canadian Natural Resources is paying a quarterly dividend of $0.4269 per share, indicating an annualized yield of 5.6%, which is an increase from the previous dividend.
• Analysts have set an average price target of $62.00 for Canadian Natural Resources, with varying ratings including "outperform" from several major banks.

Guardian Partners Inc. lessened its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 533,520 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 35,448 shares during the period. Canadian Natural Resources accounts for about 1.7% of Guardian Partners Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Guardian Partners Inc.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $16,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 13,996 shares in the last quarter. Parkwood LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Parkwood LLC now owns 618,005 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $19,035,000 after buying an additional 82,621 shares in the last quarter. Plancorp LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 7,970 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,693,000. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Greenline Partners LLC now owns 142,886 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,401,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

CNQ traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.21. 4,754,214 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,131,079. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $37.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $31.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.42.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4269 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is presently 60.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CNQ. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Company 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).