Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Short Interest Update

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 28,600,000 shares, a decrease of 53.2% from the June 30th total of 61,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CNQ. Wolfe Research began coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 19th. Raymond James upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Desjardins cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,922,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,443,214. The firm has a market cap of $73.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $29.13 and a twelve month high of $41.29.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 18.21%. The business had revenue of $6.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.777 per share. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.03%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 61.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 9.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,558 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 609 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 5,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,774 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 117.8% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 453 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

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).