Guinness Asset Management LTD Trims Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Guinness Asset Management LTD decreased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 396,541 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 65,325 shares during the quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $13,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 117.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 453 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted 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 during the period. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 716 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.60. 5,422,992 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,528,306. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.25. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $29.45 and a 52-week high of $41.29. The company has a market cap of $80.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 1.50.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.09% and a net margin of 18.05%. The business had revenue of $7.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.388 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CNQ shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.50.

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).