Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 21,392 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 706,332 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,392 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $23,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter worth $32,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CNQ. Weiss Ratings upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Evercore cut Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE CNQ opened at $47.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $46.41 and its 200 day moving average is $38.30. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $27.93 and a twelve month high of $51.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 24.48%.The business had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.59%.

Canadian Natural Resources Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE: CNQ) is a Calgary-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Established in the early 1970s and publicly listed in Canada and the United States, the company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its asset base spans conventional and unconventional reservoirs and includes oil sands mining and in-situ thermal projects, midstream processing and upgrading capacity, and related field operations.

The company’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it develops heavy crude, bitumen from oil sands and conventional light crude and natural gas resources.