Short Interest in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Increases By 213.4%

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 128,590,000 shares, a growth of 213.4% from the February 28th total of 41,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 18.7 days. Approximately 6.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.9% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,018 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,271 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 144.1% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 81,954 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on CNQ shares. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE CNQ traded down $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.55. The stock had a trading volume of 6,077,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,517,739. Canadian Natural Resources has a one year low of $25.62 and a one year high of $41.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.4117 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.88%.

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).