Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 1,285 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 108,992 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,285 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $3,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 98.3% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 710 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the second quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 716 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 91.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 104.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 874 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CNQ shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $34.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.51 and a 200-day moving average of $35.67. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $29.45 and a 52-week high of $41.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.30. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. The firm had revenue of $7.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.388 dividend. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 60.58%.

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).