Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 27,013 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 155,450 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,013 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $5,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Unified Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 10,651 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,621 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347,844 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $301,000. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 78,161 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 29,249 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNQ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE CNQ opened at $47.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $29.30 and a 1 year high of $51.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.87 and its 200-day moving average is $40.83.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.63%.

Canadian Natural Resources Company 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.