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

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 24.9 days. Approximately 5.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 7,302 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.1% in the third quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 10,158 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.9% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,018 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 36,390 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 144.1% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock traded down $0.13 on Thursday, hitting $30.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,780,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,217,681. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.21 and a 200-day moving average of $34.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $29.23 and a twelve month high of $41.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 1.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last released 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. 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 last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.388 dividend. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 64.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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).