Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,185,796 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 860,088 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.20% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $139,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% in the second quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 716 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 98.3% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 710 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 728 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 104.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 874 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of CNQ traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.17. 4,259,723 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,835,575. The stock's 50-day moving average is $34.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.67. The stock has a market cap of $72.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $29.45 and a 12 month high of $41.29.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.388 per share. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is 60.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNQ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.00.

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).