Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys New Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 40,124 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,955,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 146,331,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,956,204,000 after purchasing an additional 35,067,143 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 179.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,616,347 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $393,213,000 after buying an additional 7,455,286 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 11,020.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,735 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $124,672,000 after buying an additional 3,647,636 shares in the last quarter. BCV Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $84,309,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $73,628,000. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 0.2%

CNQ stock opened at $39.53 on Friday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $29.30 and a twelve month high of $51.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.90.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 54.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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.