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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 716 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 91.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 0.0 %

Canadian Natural Resources stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $34.42. The stock had a trading volume of 7,922,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,443,214. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52-week low of $29.13 and a 52-week high of $41.29. 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 quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $73.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 1.52.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $6.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.01 billion. On average, analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Desjardins cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Raymond James upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 19th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.00.

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).