Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 113,975 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 53%, selling 113,975 shares, and now holds approximately 100,993 shares valued at $3,111,000.
• The stock recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.4227 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $1.69, with a yield of 5.35%.
• Canadian Natural Resources has been rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus price target of $63.00, reflecting growing confidence in the company's performance.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 53.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,993 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 113,975 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $3,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 86,369 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Lincluden Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.6% during the first quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 112,909 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,475,000 after purchasing an additional 4,957 shares during the period. Cadence Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 8.2% during the first quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,712 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Ninepoint Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 63.9% during the first quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 3,090,334 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $95,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204,435 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 39.8% during the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 15,527 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 4,424 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.7%

CNQ stock opened at $31.62 on Friday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a fifty-two week low of $24.65 and a fifty-two week high of $37.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.69 and a 200-day moving average of $30.42.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.4227 per share. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

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).

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