Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Sold by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,382 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,450 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $1,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNQ. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% during the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 104.0% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 317.1% during the 2nd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 1,710 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of CNQ opened at $30.94 on Wednesday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $36.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.86. The stock has a market cap of $64.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.97.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 19.00% and a return on equity of 19.67%. The company had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th were paid a dividend of $0.4269 per share. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CNQ. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

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).