Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 622,723 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 68.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,533,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 622,723 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $60,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of CNQ stock opened at $51.85 on Wednesday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a fifty-two week low of $29.68 and a fifty-two week high of $52.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.64.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 23.91%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.