Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Short Interest Up 280.5% in May

Key Points

• Short interest in Canadian Natural Resources surged 280.5% in May, reaching 51.6 million shares, or about 2.6% of the float. The days-to-cover ratio stands at 7.4 days based on average trading volume.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 versus estimates of $0.74 and revenue of $7.72 billion versus $7.57 billion expected. Analysts currently see about $4.20 in full-year EPS.
• Canadian Natural Resources also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, equal to $2.50 annually and a 5.5% yield. Institutional ownership remains high at 74.03%, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus and a $57 average price target.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ was the target of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 51,596,398 shares, a growth of 280.5% from the May 14th total of 13,559,429 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,941,931 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.4 days.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $45.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,067,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,495,331. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12-month low of $29.30 and a 12-month high of $51.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 85.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,090 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 8,336 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 92.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 29,096 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,996 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,374 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,644 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 65.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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