Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 9,472 Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. has acquired 9,472 shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited, valued at approximately $292,000, as reported in their latest 13F filing.
• Institutional investors now hold 74.03% of the company's shares, indicating significant investment interest.
• Canadian Natural Resources has upgraded its quarterly dividend to $0.4227 per share, reflecting a 5.5% yield, an increase from the previous $0.41 dividend.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,472 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. FMR LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,550,104 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,857,337,000 after acquiring an additional 7,372,718 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 403.7% in the 1st quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 4,738,577 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $145,828,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797,846 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,708,163 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $400,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939,866 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,052,775 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,051,210,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 36,963,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,139,753,000 after acquiring an additional 1,844,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CNQ shares. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE CNQ opened at $30.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $37.91. The firm's 50-day moving average is $31.80 and its 200-day moving average is $30.40.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 16.92% and a return on equity of 20.90%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.4227 per share. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. 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 payout ratio is 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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