SCP Investment LP Cuts Stock Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

SCP Investment LP cut its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 7.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,800 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources comprises about 0.7% of SCP Investment LP’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. SCP Investment LP’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.9% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 776,979 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $23,931,000 after buying an additional 14,352 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 86.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,262,707 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $746,675,000 after buying an additional 11,259,267 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 2.2% during the first quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 160,150 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,929,000 after buying an additional 3,497 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 51.9% during the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 48,381 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 16,536 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $292,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CNQ shares. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $30.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.05. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $37.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.39.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 16.92% and a return on equity of 20.90%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.4227 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

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).