Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ Shares Sold by Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.

Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,126,037 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 24,982 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources makes up about 2.4% of Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $73,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of CNQ stock opened at $45.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.37. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $29.30 and a twelve month high of $51.34. The company has a market capitalization of $94.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

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.