Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys 622,723 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management increased its Canadian Natural Resources stake by 68.4%, buying 622,723 shares to own 1.53 million shares valued at approximately $60.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.03% of CNQ.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with seven Buy ratings and five Holds, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $57.00 target price.
• CNQ shares opened at $51.85 after rising 3.6%; the company also reported quarterly earnings of $1.58 per share, beating estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625, representing a 4.8% annualized yield.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 68.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,533,011 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 622,723 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.07% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $60,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 146,331,336 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,956,204,000 after purchasing an additional 35,067,143 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter valued at about $1,411,619,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 11,020.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,735 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $124,672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647,636 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,826,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter worth about $117,215,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 3.6%

NYSE CNQ opened at $51.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52 week low of $29.68 and a 52 week high of $52.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.64.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 23.91%. On average, analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is 44.69%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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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