568,968 Shares in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Acquired by Guardian Partners Inc.

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 568,968 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $18,536,000. Canadian Natural Resources makes up 1.9% of Guardian Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $13,700,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 595.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 296,424 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,151,000 after purchasing an additional 17,694 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,109,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $746,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,437,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $136,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNQ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Canadian Natural Resources from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $30.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $25.62 and a 12-month high of $41.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.22.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.4117 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.88%.

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).