Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Sold by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 14.1%, selling 12,277 shares which brought their total holdings to 74,902 shares worth approximately $2.3 million.
• Canadian Natural Resources recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.4269, reflecting a yield of 5.4%, up from the previous $0.42 per share.
• The company's stock was reported to have a current market capitalization of $65.83 billion and is projected to post earnings of 2.45 per share for the current year, with an average price target of $62.00 among analysts.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC trimmed its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 14.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,902 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 12,277 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $2,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Compound Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 17,788 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 31,822,379 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $980,129,000 after acquiring an additional 603,101 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,968,120 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,354,219,000 after acquiring an additional 9,915,345 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 67.8% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 161,713 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,981,000 after acquiring an additional 65,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,936,275 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $336,807,000 after acquiring an additional 146,121 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CNQ shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target 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. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

CNQ traded up $0.19 during trading on Monday, reaching $31.68. 6,081,073 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,823,787. The stock has a market cap of $66.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.17 and a 200 day moving average of $30.33. 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.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a $0.4269 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.64%.

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).