Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $1.15 Billion Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,060,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 260,000 shares during the period. Canadian Natural Resources comprises about 1.9% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $1,153,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $348,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,391 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 69,001 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 3,822 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,035 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $588,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE CNQ opened at $45.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.37. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $29.30 and a twelve month high of $51.34. The stock has a market cap of $94.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.45.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CNQ. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.00.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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.