Guardian Partners Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 568,968 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $18,536,000. Canadian Natural Resources comprises about 1.9% of Guardian Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 44,131,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,362,332,000 after buying an additional 550,242 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 5.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,468,127 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $945,965,000 after buying an additional 1,383,478 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,109,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $746,025,000 after buying an additional 1,270,945 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,433,797 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $414,223,000 after buying an additional 3,224,548 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 8.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,768,297 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $328,807,000 after buying an additional 727,798 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNQ opened at $30.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.48. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1-year low of $25.62 and a 1-year 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.02 and its 200-day moving average is $32.22.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.4117 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.43%. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.88%.

Canadian Natural Resources 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).