Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,830,823 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 63.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,637,669 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 2,830,823 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $50,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 15,100 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 6,547 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $38,441,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 14,652 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,711 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ traded down $0.45 on Monday, reaching $31.77. 3,407,704 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,785,944. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $37.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $31.23 and a 200-day moving average of $30.34. The company has a market capitalization of $66.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 16.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.4227 per share. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.32%. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 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).