Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 818,809 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. raised its Q4 stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.9%, buying 818,809 shares to hold 93,305,198 shares (4.48% of the company) worth $3.16 billion, while institutional investors own 74.03% of the stock.
• Canadian Natural beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.59 vs. $0.53; revenue $6.89B), increased its quarterly dividend to $0.625 (annualized $2.50) for a 5.4% yield, and carries a ~$96.7B market cap with a consensus price target of $57 ("Moderate Buy").

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,305,198 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 818,809 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 4.48% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $3,160,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $46.36 on Wednesday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a one year low of $27.93 and a one year high of $51.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.53.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 24.48%.The company had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CNQ. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Raymond James Financial lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources 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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