Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 171.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,390,830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,511,659 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $94,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 15,199 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 43,814 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 10,312 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 93,840 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,573,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 15.4% in the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:CNQ opened at $49.07 on Friday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $29.68 and a 1 year high of $51.47. The company has a market capitalization of $101.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday. Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.