Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Sold by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has reduced its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 23.7%, now holding 161,647 shares valued at approximately $4.98 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also taken positions in CNQ, with hedge funds currently owning 74.03% of the stock.
• Canadian Natural Resources recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4269, reflecting an annual yield of 5.7% and a payout ratio of 60.64%.

LPL Financial LLC cut its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 23.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,647 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 50,247 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $4,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 819,352 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $25,208,000 after buying an additional 46,977 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% during the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 65,456 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,016,000 after buying an additional 14,285 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 45.7% during the 1st quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 215,164 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,588,000 after buying an additional 67,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 86,369 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,660,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CNQ. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.83. 3,142,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,632,908. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $31.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.34. The company has a market capitalization of $62.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.05. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $37.91.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.97 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 19.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.4269 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is 59.93%.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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).