Lincluden Management Ltd. Decreases Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Lincluden Management Ltd. trimmed its stake — the firm sold 26,570 CNQ shares in Q4 (a 3.8% reduction) and now holds 673,512 shares worth about $22.8 million, making CNQ its 16th-largest holding (~2.5% of assets).
• Dividend raised — Canadian Natural Resources lifted its quarterly payout to $0.625 (annualized $2.50), implying a ~5.4% yield and a payout ratio around 49.6% (ex-dividend March 20).
• Quarterly results beat estimates — CNQ reported $0.59 EPS vs. $0.53 expected and revenue of $6.89 billion vs. $6.64 billion, while the company carries a market cap near $96.7 billion and a P/E around 12.6.

Lincluden Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 673,512 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 26,570 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources comprises approximately 2.5% of Lincluden Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Lincluden Management Ltd.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $22,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tacita Capital Inc grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 5,753 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 26,308 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 17,886 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 11,794 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,939 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of CNQ opened at $46.36 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $46.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.17. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $27.93 and a 52-week high of $51.34. The firm has a market cap of $96.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th were given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CNQ shares. Evercore lowered Canadian Natural Resources from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.00.

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.

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