Whittier Trust Co. Grows Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 10.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 52,446 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 4,926 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $1,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,803 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,134,000 after buying an additional 2,756 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $757,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 48,964 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 17,308 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 99.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 11,181 shares during the period. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 55.3% during the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 42,564 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 15,148 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on CNQ shares. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 1.5%

CNQ opened at $30.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 0.97. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $24.65 and a 12 month high of $35.63.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.97 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 19.00%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th were issued a dividend of $0.4269 per share. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 60.64%.

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).