Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Short Interest Update

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 41,030,000 shares, a growth of 342.1% from the February 13th total of 9,280,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.6 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 1.8 %

CNQ traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.24. The stock had a trading volume of 7,416,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,036,280. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1-year low of $25.62 and a 1-year high of $41.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.56.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.4117 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.63%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is currently 77.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 144.1% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).