Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $5.91 Million Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 60.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,174 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 183,944 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $5,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,336 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 13,996 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNQ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Desjardins raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:CNQ opened at $47.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.70 and its 200-day moving average is $43.68. The company has a market cap of $98.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.98. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $29.30 and a 52-week high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released 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 business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.03%.

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.