Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,742 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $3,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 594 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of CNQ opened at $76.33 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.51. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a fifty-two week low of $52.66 and a fifty-two week high of $76.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.13. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 20.15% and a return on equity of 21.74%. The firm had revenue of $7.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. Equities analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.774 dividend. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 53.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Canadian Natural Resources 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).