Intact Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Intact Investment Management cut its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 46.1% in Q4, selling 792,630 shares and leaving 925,590 shares valued at $31.35 million.
• Canadian Natural Resources beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.59 (vs. $0.53 est.) and revenue of $6.89 billion, posting a net margin of 24.48% and ROE of 17.84%.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.625 (annualized $2.50) for a yield of 5.3%, and analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $57 price target.

Intact Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 46.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 925,590 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 792,630 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $31,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:CNQ opened at $46.97 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $46.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.40. The company has a market capitalization of $97.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1-year low of $27.93 and a 1-year high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 17.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were given a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is currently 49.59%.

Canadian Natural Resources Profile

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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