Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Stock Holdings Increased by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,397,500 shares during the period. Canadian Natural Resources makes up about 2.9% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $1,826,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,758,445 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $228,729,000 after buying an additional 315,460 shares in the last quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,198,000. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 22.4% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,122,209 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $252,883,000 after acquiring an additional 938,210 shares during the last quarter. Novem Group purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,270,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 78,161 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 29,249 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $46.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52 week low of $29.30 and a 52 week high of $51.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $43.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.03%.

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.