Verity & Verity LLC Acquires New Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 265,552 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $8,819,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 49.3% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,313 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,076 shares in the last quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 13.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 510,330 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $16,948,000 after acquiring an additional 61,473 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 8.9% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 62,831 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,087,000 after acquiring an additional 5,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.0 %

CNQ stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.67. 2,036,871 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,313,253. 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 Limited has a 1-year low of $29.45 and a 1-year high of $41.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $34.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.41. The company has a market cap of $71.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.50.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $7.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 20.07%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.388 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on CNQ shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

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).