Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Boosts Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 179.2% in Q4, adding 7,455,286 shares to hold 11,616,347 shares worth about $393.2 million (0.56% of the company).
• CNQ reported a quarterly EPS beat of $0.59 versus $0.53 and revenue of $6.89 billion, with a market cap of $96.7 billion, a PE of 12.56, ROE of 17.84% and a net margin of 24.48%.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.625 ($2.50 annual, ~5.4% yield, DPR ~49.6%), and analysts hold a mixed view with a consensus “Moderate Buy” and a $57 target price.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 179.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,616,347 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,455,286 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.56% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $393,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Raymond James Financial lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of CNQ stock opened at $46.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.95. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 24.48%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

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

Canadian Natural Resources Company 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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