Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Trims Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 51.2% in the first quarter, now holding 139,461 shares valued at approximately $4.29 million.
• Investment Management Corp VA ADV and Versant Capital Management Inc were among the institutional investors increasing their holdings by 158.3% and 253.2%, respectively.
• Canadian Natural Resources recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.4227 per share, resulting in a 5.4% dividend yield.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board decreased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 51.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,461 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 146,472 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $4,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNQ. Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:CNQ opened at $31.40 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.84. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $37.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.05.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. Analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.4227 dividend. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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).

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