JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 44,844 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.3%, selling 44,844 shares and now holds 14,047,793 shares (about 0.67% of the company) valued at roughly $449 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Canadian Natural Resources raised its quarterly dividend to $0.625 (annualized $2.50), implying a ~5.1% yield, with an ex-dividend/record date of March 20 and payment on April 7.
• The company beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.59 vs. $0.53 consensus and revenue of $6.89B vs. $6.64B, while analysts hold a mixed view — consensus rating "Hold" with an average target of $57.00.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,047,793 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 44,844 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.67% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $448,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNQ. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3,182.7% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CNQ. Desjardins lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Evercore cut Canadian Natural Resources from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of CNQ opened at $49.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $102.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.63. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $49.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.98.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.06. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 24.48%.The business had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.53%.

Canadian Natural Resources Company 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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