Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 69,041 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 87.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 69,041 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CNQ. Raymond James upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Tudor Pickering downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

CNQ stock opened at $30.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 1.04. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $38.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.69.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.4227 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 63.92%.

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).