Rempart Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Rempart Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 618,315 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 20,350 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources comprises 3.9% of Rempart Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Rempart Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $19,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings 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 worth $2,857,337,000 after acquiring an additional 7,372,718 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 595.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,109,432 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $746,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,945 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,437,771 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $136,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baskin Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 996,151 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $30,736,000 after buying an additional 10,871 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

NYSE:CNQ traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.39. 4,331,816 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,538,336. The business's 50-day moving average price is $29.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.48. The company has a market cap of $63.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $38.51.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted 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. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 20.07%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.4227 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.56%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Tudor Pickering lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Profile

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).