Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,074,921 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 551,109 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.15% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $94,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNQ. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.53. The stock had a trading volume of 5,543,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,418,095. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $38.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $28.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.81. The company has a market cap of $64.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.04.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.54%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is 77.88%.

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).