Hennessy Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 195,500 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 24,100 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $6,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 8.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,803 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,756 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $4,747,000. Verity & Verity LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 485,471 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $14,953,000 after acquiring an additional 187,984 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 48.6% in the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 9,784 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 3,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dividend Assets Capital LLC boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 32.1% in the first quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC now owns 403,972 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $12,442,000 after acquiring an additional 98,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ traded down $0.37 on Wednesday, reaching $33.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,417,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,649,624. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $37.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50-day moving average is $30.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 16.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.4227 per share. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.00.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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).