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

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 109,510,000 shares, a growth of 268.8% from the November 30th total of 29,690,000 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 24.9 days.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.1 %

CNQ stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,538,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,206,966. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1-year low of $29.23 and a 1-year high of $41.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.10 and a 200 day moving average of $34.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,449,240 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,621 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 115,575 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,114,000 after buying an additional 65,942 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 88.8% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 2,760 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 98.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 16,914 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 8,370 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 126.6% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 23,937 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 13,373 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).