Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Stock: Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Reduces Stake

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. reduced its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 350,239 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 32,683 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $16,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,826,578,000 after buying an additional 3,397,500 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $1,411,619,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.4% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 16,459,772 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $784,278,000 after buying an additional 223,444 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.1% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 8,238,632 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $325,426,000 after buying an additional 244,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 26.7% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,011,862 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $341,546,000 after buying an additional 1,475,500 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

NYSE CNQ opened at $54.27 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $111.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $29.98 and a 1 year high of $55.13.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.40 billion. On average, analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.10 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a C$0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, marketing and sale of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional petroleum assets, heavy crude oil operations, and oil sands projects that produce bitumen and synthetic crude oil.

The company’s principal operations are located in Western Canada, including oil sands and conventional assets in Alberta and natural gas properties in Alberta and British Columbia.