Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $68.85 Million Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 12.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,415,917 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 210,265 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $68,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 8,336 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after buying an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE CNQ opened at $42.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $29.30 and a 12 month high of $51.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.11 and a 200-day moving average of $42.78.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CNQ. Zacks Research downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Company 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.