Cidel Asset Management Inc. Purchases 326,962 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 198.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 491,355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 326,962 shares during the quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $19,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter valued at $26,000. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ stock opened at $50.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $104.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.00. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $29.68 and a 12-month high of $52.24.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 22.78%.The firm had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.40 billion. On average, analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Canadian Natural Resources Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) is a Canadian independent crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, marketing and refining company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company produces a range of energy products, including heavy and light crude oil, synthetic crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

CNRL’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it holds significant oil sands, conventional oil and natural gas assets. Its oil sands business includes mining and upgrading operations as well as in situ thermal projects.