Townsquare Capital LLC Takes $347,000 Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,442 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $890,000. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 226.0% in the 3rd quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,549,610 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,469,000 after buying an additional 1,074,199 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 112.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 453,393 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $15,057,000 after buying an additional 240,354 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 123.0% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 54,323 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,804,000 after acquiring an additional 29,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 228.5% in the second quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 91,652 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,263,000 after acquiring an additional 63,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

NYSE:CNQ opened at $33.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.08. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a one year low of $29.45 and a one year high of $41.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $7.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.388 dividend. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 60.58%.

Canadian Natural Resources Profile

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).