Louisbourg Investments Inc. Sells 45,260 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Louisbourg Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,837 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 45,260 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $4,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,616,219 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,654,000 after purchasing an additional 43,356 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,716,038 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,883,000 after purchasing an additional 33,609 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,718,220 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,946,000 after purchasing an additional 143,550 shares during the period. SCP Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $1,144,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $1,593,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CNQ shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $47.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.53 and a 200 day moving average of $36.40. The company has a market cap of $99.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $51.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 17.84%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 49.59%.

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.