HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 169,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 11,816 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $5,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $16,510,000. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 772,375 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $23,834,000 after acquiring an additional 43,130 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 7,087,352 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $231,260,000 after purchasing an additional 116,731 shares during the period. Finally, Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 890,610 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,461,000 after purchasing an additional 12,265 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of CNQ opened at $30.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.29. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $25.62 and a twelve month high of $41.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.4117 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.88%.

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).