Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Short Interest Up 280.5% in May

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 51,596,398 shares, an increase of 280.5% from the May 14th total of 13,559,429 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,941,931 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.4 days.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 0.1%

CNQ stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $45.47. 8,067,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,495,331. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.34. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12-month low of $29.30 and a 12-month high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Seven 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 8,336 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Company 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.