Investors Research Corp Increases Stock Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Investors Research Corp grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 148.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,550 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 26,600 shares during the quarter. Investors Research Corp's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CNQ. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CNQ. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Tudor Pickering lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of CNQ stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $30.80. 5,850,684 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,547,972. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $29.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.44. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $38.51. The stock has a market cap of $64.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its 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 net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 20.07%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.4227 per share. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.49%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.92%.

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).