HighTower Advisors LLC Has $7.13 Million Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors increased its CNQ position by 24.4% in the second quarter, owning 180,615 shares valued at approximately $7.13 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 74.03% of Canadian Natural Resources’ stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with seven Buy ratings and five Holds, resulting in a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.
• Canadian Natural Resources reported quarterly EPS of $1.58, beating estimates by $0.15, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share—an annualized $2.50 payout yielding about 4.9%.

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 24.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,615 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 35,443 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $7,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNQ. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter worth about $6,198,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $117,215,000. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,122,209 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $252,883,000 after acquiring an additional 938,210 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 78,161 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,646,000 after purchasing an additional 29,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 775,589 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $37,825,000 after purchasing an additional 287,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 1.1%

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $50.80 on Friday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a fifty-two week low of $29.68 and a fifty-two week high of $52.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $46.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.12. The stock has a market cap of $104.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.40 billion. Research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.69%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) is a Canadian independent crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, marketing and refining company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company produces a range of energy products, including heavy and light crude oil, synthetic crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

CNRL's operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it holds significant oil sands, conventional oil and natural gas assets. Its oil sands business includes mining and upgrading operations as well as in situ thermal projects.

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