Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Stock: Vise Technologies Inc. Boosts Stake

Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 188,592 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,227 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $8,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,826,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397,500 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter worth about $1,411,619,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.4% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 16,459,772 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $784,278,000 after buying an additional 223,444 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 7,994,427 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $389,568,000 after buying an additional 217,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 26.7% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,011,862 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $341,546,000 after buying an additional 1,475,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CNQ opened at $56.20 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $115.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.45. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $30.13 and a 12-month high of $56.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.85.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 23.91%. Equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.10 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of C$0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, marketing and sale of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional petroleum assets, heavy crude oil operations, and oil sands projects that produce bitumen and synthetic crude oil.

The company’s principal operations are located in Western Canada, including oil sands and conventional assets in Alberta and natural gas properties in Alberta and British Columbia.