Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 727,798 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,768,297 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 727,798 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $328,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 98.3% in the 2nd 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. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 144.1% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 71.2% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 904 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $31.47 on Friday. 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 one year low of $29.45 and a one year high of $41.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.82.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.47 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.388 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is currently 60.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNQ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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).