Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 192,390,000 shares, a growth of 72.5% from the August 31st total of 111,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,850,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 39.7 days. Approximately 9.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.50.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.21. 5,433,569 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,543,836. The company’s fifty day moving average is $34.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.88. Canadian Natural Resources has a fifty-two week low of $29.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.29. The stock has a market cap of $70.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 1.51.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.09% and a net margin of 18.05%. The company had revenue of $7.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.384 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 61.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the second quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 716 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 98.3% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 710 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the second quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 91.6% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 104.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 874 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Company 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).