Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.1%, adding 21,392 shares to hold 706,332 shares valued at about $23.96 million at quarter-end.
• CNQ beat quarterly expectations with $0.59 EPS versus $0.53 expected and $6.89 billion in revenue versus $6.64 billion, and analysts forecast roughly 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.625 (annualized $2.50), representing a yield of about 5.2% and a payout ratio near 49.6%.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 706,332 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 21,392 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $23,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter worth $32,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter worth $32,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CNQ. Weiss Ratings upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $47.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.95. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $27.93 and a 52-week high of $51.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.41 and a 200 day moving average of $38.30.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 24.48%.The business had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is 49.59%.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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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