SG Americas Securities LLC Decreases Stock Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 283,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 13,424 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $8,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 27,065 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 9,745 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 76,108 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,349,000 after buying an additional 13,277 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 595.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 5,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,468,492 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $137,889,000 after acquiring an additional 282,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNQ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Raymond James raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of CNQ stock traded up $0.83 on Friday, reaching $33.53. 6,094,796 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,622,826. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.74 and a 200-day moving average of $30.34. The company has a market cap of $70.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.03. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a one year low of $24.65 and a one year high of $37.91.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.4227 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.04%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

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).