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 during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 109,510,000 shares, an increase of 268.8% from the November 30th total of 29,690,000 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 24.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.16. 2,538,720 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,206,966. Canadian Natural Resources has a one year low of $29.23 and a one year high of $41.29. The company has a market cap of $63.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.30. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. The company had revenue of $7.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.388 per share. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 43,581,024 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,447,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,452 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,518,833 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,514,190,000 after purchasing an additional 20,843,193 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 93.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,464,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,476,644,000 after purchasing an additional 19,980,902 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 105.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 31,668,045 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,127,382,000 after purchasing an additional 16,245,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 90.3% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,017,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,069,338,000 after buying an additional 14,246,978 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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).