Yacktman Asset Management LP Cuts Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Yacktman Asset Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 5.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,266,207 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,667,178 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources accounts for approximately 11.0% of Yacktman Asset Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $839,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNQ. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNQ has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:CNQ opened at $32.11 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $37.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.37.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.4227 dividend. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

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).