Hennessy Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 164,300 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 12,600 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $6,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter worth about $26,000. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $49.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.44. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52 week low of $29.68 and a 52 week high of $51.47. The company has a market capitalization of $101.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 22.78%.The firm had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.40 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNQ. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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.