Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.42

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 9th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of 0.4227 per share by the oil and gas producer on Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This is a 2.7% increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41.

Canadian Natural Resources has a payout ratio of 71.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Canadian Natural Resources to earn $2.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.71 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 69.0%.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 1.8%

CNQ opened at $32.19 on Wednesday. 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 has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $37.91. The stock has a market cap of $67.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.51 and a 200-day moving average of $30.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CNQ shares. Raymond James raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Scotiabank raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 8,336 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).