Guardian Point Capital LP Makes New Investment in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Guardian Point Capital LP opened a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter, buying 400,000 shares valued at about $19.5 million. The stock now represents 8.0% of the fund’s portfolio and is its sixth-largest holding.
• Institutional ownership remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 74.03% of the shares. Several firms also increased their stakes, including large additions from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund and the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio.
• Analysts currently rate CNQ a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $57. The company also beat quarterly earnings estimates, reported a 5.4% dividend yield, and its shares were trading around $46.45 in the latest session.

Guardian Point Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 400,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $19,492,000. Canadian Natural Resources makes up 8.0% of Guardian Point Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 21.8% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 10,197 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 1,822 shares in the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 139.6% during the 1st quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 623,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $30,359,000 after purchasing an additional 363,352 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter worth about $249,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,826,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397,500 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 183.4% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,011,022 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $49,231,000 after purchasing an additional 654,266 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.2%

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $46.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $96.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.96 and a 200-day moving average of $43.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a one year low of $29.30 and a one year high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is 54.03%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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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