Ativo Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Ativo Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,739 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 198 shares during the quarter. Ativo Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $1,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,128 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $814,000 after purchasing an additional 3,055 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $403,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,727 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 896,093 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,540,000 after acquiring an additional 214,665 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 2.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 73.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 28th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $65.56. 899,382 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,012,428. The company has a market capitalization of $71.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 1.58. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $44.45 and a 1 year high of $65.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.62.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.03). Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 18.14%. The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.44 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.6744 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.06%.

Canadian Natural Resources Company 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).