Westerkirk Capital Inc. Trims Stock Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Westerkirk Capital Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 93.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,950 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 82,000 shares during the quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,023,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 296,146 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,025,000 after acquiring an additional 9,053 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 328,287 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,112,000 after acquiring an additional 38,957 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,308,539 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $484,344,000 after acquiring an additional 260,746 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of CNQ opened at $44.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $93.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.62 and a 200 day moving average of $41.18. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $29.30 and a 52-week high of $51.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.The business had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on CNQ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.