Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 113,170,168 shares, an increase of 96.3% from the August 15th total of 57,647,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,523,776 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 20.5 days. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:CNQ traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.09. 7,086,230 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,487,478. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.00. Canadian Natural Resources has a fifty-two week low of $29.68 and a fifty-two week high of $52.31.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.0% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,447 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.7% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 15,199 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Ted Buchan & Co lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 43,814 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,483,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,854 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FDx Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 10,312 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) is a Canadian independent crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, marketing and refining company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company produces a range of energy products, including heavy and light crude oil, synthetic crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

CNRL’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it holds significant oil sands, conventional oil and natural gas assets. Its oil sands business includes mining and upgrading operations as well as in situ thermal projects.