Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 8,870 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 6.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 150,709 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,870 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $5,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 2nd quarter worth $890,000. Canoe Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 226.0% during the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,549,610 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,199 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 228.5% during the second quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 91,652 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,263,000 after acquiring an additional 63,756 shares in the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 103.0% in the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 99,999 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,560,000 after purchasing an additional 50,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baskin Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 985,280 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,696,000 after purchasing an additional 14,812 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 1.8 %

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $34.17 on Friday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52 week low of $29.45 and a 52 week high of $41.29. The firm has a market cap of $72.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.388 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 64.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Desjardins raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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).