Hsbc Holdings PLC Trims Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC has reduced its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 2.8%, now holding shares worth $30.66 million after selling 28,470 shares.
• Canadian Natural Resources Limited has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4269 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 5.5%, an increase from its previous dividend.
• Analysts have given Canadian Natural Resources a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $62.00, reflecting strong investor sentiment despite changes in some ratings.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 995,930 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 28,470 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $30,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CNQ. Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 253.2% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,307 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 104.0% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter worth about $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 2.7%

CNQ stock traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,897,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,437,628. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $37.91. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $31.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.32. The stock has a market cap of $65.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.4269 per share. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is presently 59.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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).