Purpose Unlimited Inc. Takes Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources, acquiring 2.17 million shares valued at about $73.6 million. The position now represents 3.4% of the fund’s portfolio and its 6th-largest holding.
• Canadian Natural Resources reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 versus estimates of $0.74 and revenue of $7.72 billion versus $7.57 billion expected. Analysts currently expect full-year EPS of 4.2.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, or $2.50 annualized, yielding about 6.1%. The stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $57.00.

Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,173,764 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $73,628,000. Canadian Natural Resources accounts for approximately 3.4% of Purpose Unlimited Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Purpose Unlimited Inc. owned 0.10% of Canadian Natural Resources at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNQ. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 8,336 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 13,996 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,445,000 after buying an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $40.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $45.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.68. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1-year low of $29.30 and a 1-year high of $51.34. The stock has a market cap of $85.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.45.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is 54.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research cut Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

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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