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

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 47,565,794 shares, a decline of 50.2% from the June 30th total of 95,572,175 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 9,137,931 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock traded up $2.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $46.49. 8,066,423 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,706,050. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1 year low of $29.30 and a 1 year high of $51.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.73 and a 200-day moving average of $43.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. CX Institutional acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Desjardins upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE: CNQ) is a Calgary-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Established in the early 1970s and publicly listed in Canada and the United States, the company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its asset base spans conventional and unconventional reservoirs and includes oil sands mining and in-situ thermal projects, midstream processing and upgrading capacity, and related field operations.

The company’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it develops heavy crude, bitumen from oil sands and conventional light crude and natural gas resources.