K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Cuts Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc cut its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 30.5% in Q4, selling 49,250 shares and leaving 112,415 shares valued at about $3.81 million.
• Canadian Natural Resources beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.59 vs. $0.53 est., revenue $6.89B) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.625 (annualized $2.50, roughly a 5.5% yield).
• Analysts hold a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $57 target price, and institutional investors own roughly 74% of the stock.

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc cut its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 30.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,415 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 49,250 shares during the period. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $3,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNQ. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% in the 3rd 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. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE CNQ opened at $45.61 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $46.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $95.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.47. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $28.27 and a 52-week high of $51.34.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were given a $0.625 dividend. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.