Van ECK Associates Corp Has $94.51 Million Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates increased its Canadian Natural Resources stake by 171.9% in the second quarter, purchasing 1.51 million additional shares and bringing its holdings to 2.39 million shares valued at approximately $94.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with seven Buy ratings and five Holds, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $57 price target.
• Canadian Natural Resources reported quarterly earnings of $1.58 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625, equal to a 5.1% annualized yield.

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 171.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,390,830 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 1,511,659 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.12% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $94,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter worth $26,000. CX Institutional bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter worth $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter worth $29,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CNQ. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE CNQ opened at $49.07 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.44. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $29.68 and a 12-month high of $51.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $101.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.46.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm had revenue of $14.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.40 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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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