Verity & Verity LLC Increases Stock Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Verity & Verity LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 511,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,505 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $16,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 4,365 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Haven Private LLC lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.4% during the second quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 11,617 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.2% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 32,283 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,109 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $34.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.96. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $35.12.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 14.90%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.5875 dividend. This represents a $2.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CNQ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 price objective on Canadian Natural Resources and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Desjardins lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Profile

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.