Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in 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. purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,472 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 253.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,307 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,493 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 104.0% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CNQ traded down $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.23. 3,411,860 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,504,918. The stock has a market cap of $65.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.05. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a fifty-two week low of $24.65 and a fifty-two week high of $37.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.39. 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 (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.4227 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is 67.06%.

Canadian Natural Resources 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).