Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,746,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,153,566 shares during the period. Canadian Natural Resources makes up approximately 1.1% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $1,303,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 3.6%

NYSE CNQ opened at $44.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.37. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $29.30 and a 12 month high of $51.34. The company has a market capitalization of $92.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 54.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CNQ. Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Desjardins raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.