Virtu Financial LLC Invests $579,000 in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,442 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,518,833 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,514,190,000 after acquiring an additional 20,843,193 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 93.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,464,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,476,644,000 after purchasing an additional 19,980,902 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 105.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 31,668,045 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,127,382,000 after buying an additional 16,245,046 shares in the last quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 95.9% during the second quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 29,456,746 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,048,660,000 after buying an additional 14,418,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 90.3% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,017,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,069,338,000 after buying an additional 14,246,978 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $31.47 on Friday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $29.45 and a 52-week high of $41.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $34.35 and its 200 day moving average is $34.80. The company has a market cap of $66.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $7.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 20.07%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.388 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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).