Westerkirk Capital Inc. Sells 82,000 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Westerkirk Capital Inc. decreased its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 93.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,950 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 82,000 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Zacks Research lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Seven investment 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 a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $44.72 on Wednesday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a fifty-two week low of $29.30 and a fifty-two week high of $51.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.18. 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 market cap of $93.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Canadian Natural Resources Profile

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.