Raymond James Financial Inc. Sells 159,216 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has reduced its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited by 12.8%, selling 159,216 shares, and currently owns about 1,086,052 shares valued at approximately $33.45 million.
• Despite the sale, several hedge funds, including Brandywine Global Investment Management and Dimensional Fund Advisors, have increased their stakes in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter.
• Canadian Natural Resources recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4269, which is an increase from the previous $0.42, reflecting a 5.5% yield.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,086,052 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 159,216 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.05% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $33,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.5% in the first quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 128,660 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,963,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 794,723 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $24,454,000 after acquiring an additional 32,692 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 27.5% in the first quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 2,183,598 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $67,201,000 after acquiring an additional 470,391 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 18.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,283,008 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $255,108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter valued at $584,000. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE CNQ opened at $31.1050 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.41 and a 200-day moving average of $30.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $64.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.05. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $37.91.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.97 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 19.00% and a return on equity of 19.67%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a $0.4269 dividend. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNQ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.00.

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).

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