Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 36.6%, selling 675,217 shares, and now owns 1,171,300 shares valued at approximately $36 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently increased their positions in Canadian Natural Resources, leading to institutional investors now holding 74.03% of the company's stock.
• Canadian Natural Resources announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.4227 per share, raising its annualized dividend yield to 5.39%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 36.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,171,300 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 675,217 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.06% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $36,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,372,718 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $267,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter valued at about $3,697,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter worth about $757,000. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,452,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CNQ. 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. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.3%

CNQ stock traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.81. The stock had a trading volume of 867,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,562,655. The firm has a market cap of $66.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average price is $31.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $37.91.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.4227 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.32%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend 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).