Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 424,624 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 40,702 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $14,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. LOM Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.0%

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $45.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $94.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 0.47. 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 price is $47.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.46.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 54.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

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.