HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 24.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 181,062 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 35,417 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $6,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNQ. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 98.3% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 710 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 104.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 874 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 71.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 904 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CNQ shares. Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $32.40 on Tuesday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a one year low of $29.45 and a one year high of $41.29. The company has a market cap of $68.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.95.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $7.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 20.07%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).