Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $5.26 Million Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 155,450 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,013 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $5,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Unified Investment Management raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Unified Investment Management now owns 10,651 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,621 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $710,119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347,844 shares during the period. Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 78,161 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 29,249 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

NYSE CNQ opened at $47.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12-month low of $29.30 and a 12-month high of $51.34. The company has a market capitalization of $99.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.87 and its 200-day moving average is $40.83.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

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.