Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its shares in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 30.9% in Q1, acquiring an additional 23,106 shares, bringing its total holdings to 97,880 shares valued at approximately $3 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Bank of Nova Scotia, also significantly increased their stakes in Canadian Natural Resources, reflecting a growing confidence in the company amidst a 74.03% institutional ownership.
• Canadian Natural Resources announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.4269 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.4%, indicating positive financial performance and commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 30.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 97,880 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 23,106 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $3,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNQ. Investment Management Corp VA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% in the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 253.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,307 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 104.0% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNQ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CNQ traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.68. The stock had a trading volume of 6,081,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,823,787. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $37.91. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $31.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.34. The company has a market cap of $66.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.4269 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is presently 60.64%.

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).