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

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) saw a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 112,605,424 shares, an increase of 118.2% from the May 31st total of 51,596,398 shares. Currently, 5.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 7,487,146 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 15.0 days.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.87. 3,703,154 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,444,201. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.03. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $29.30 and a twelve month high of $51.34. The firm has a market cap of $80.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.The business had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CNQ shares. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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 report on Friday, March 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

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

About Canadian Natural Resources

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.