Marathon Asset Management Ltd Has $54.94 Million Stock Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited $CNQ

Marathon Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,600,148 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 91,953 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources comprises approximately 2.1% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $54,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,616,219 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,654,000 after purchasing an additional 43,356 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,716,038 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,883,000 after purchasing an additional 33,609 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,758,445 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $228,729,000 after purchasing an additional 315,460 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 9.1% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,718,220 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,946,000 after purchasing an additional 143,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SCP Investment LP bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter worth $1,144,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE CNQ opened at $49.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.64. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $29.30 and a twelve month high of $51.34. The stock has a market cap of $102.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CNQ. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.