Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Stock Price Up 3.7% Following Dividend Announcement

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) shares traded up 3.7% during trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $36.88 and last traded at $36.87. 1,534,267 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 5,515,589 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.55.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.388 per share. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CNQ. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $77.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.25.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.09% and a net margin of 18.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. Analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.4% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 174,851 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,817,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 11,044 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 26,746 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 2,663 shares during the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 102,667 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 278,730 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,257,000 after acquiring an additional 154,655 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).