Gotham Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,923 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 55,052 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $3,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,550,104 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,857,337,000 after purchasing an additional 7,372,718 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 5,982 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 296,424 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $9,151,000 after purchasing an additional 17,694 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,437,771 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $136,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ stock traded down $0.22 on Friday, reaching $30.69. 9,276,529 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,487,936. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.30 and a 200-day moving average of $30.69. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $38.86. The firm has a market cap of $64.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92 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 (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.4227 per share. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.51%. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is presently 63.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Canadian Natural Resources Company 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).