Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 87.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,599 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 69,041 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNQ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Tudor Pickering lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CNQ traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $30.72. The stock had a trading volume of 7,796,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,502,883. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.65. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $24.65 and a 12 month high of $38.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $64.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.04.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 20.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.4227 dividend. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.50%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.92%.

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).