Leuthold Group LLC Increases Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Leuthold Group LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 97.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,911 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 144,344,207 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,011,765,000 after purchasing an additional 684,532 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,813,537 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,343,849,000 after buying an additional 714,346 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,518,833 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,514,190,000 after acquiring an additional 20,843,193 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 95.9% in the 2nd quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 29,456,746 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,048,660,000 after acquiring an additional 14,418,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 23,340,567 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,529,146,000 after acquiring an additional 250,256 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $33.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.51. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $29.45 and a twelve month high of $41.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.42.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.26. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.09% and a net margin of 18.05%. The business had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.384 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.75%.

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).