Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,135,562 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 300,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $189,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 6,902.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,652,855 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $112,763,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600,686 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 73.3% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 7,834,264 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $260,116,000 after acquiring an additional 3,312,442 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,433,797 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $414,223,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,548 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 63.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 8,233,388 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $273,417,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198,007 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,437,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $136,994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064,492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of CNQ opened at $28.70 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $60.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 1.48. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $25.62 and a 52-week high of $41.29.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.4117 per share. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.74%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 77.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNQ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources 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).