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

Key Points

• Short interest fell sharply: Canadian Natural Resources’ short interest declined 50.2% to 47.6 million shares as of July 15, representing approximately 2.4% of shares outstanding and 5.2 days of average trading volume.
• Financial and dividend highlights: The company beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $0.85 versus the $0.74 consensus, while its quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share implies an annualized yield of 5.6%.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Recent rating changes included upgrades from Raymond James and Zacks Research, and analysts collectively give CNQ a “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 47,565,794 shares, a decrease of 50.2% from the June 30th total of 95,572,175 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,137,931 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded down $0.48 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,937,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,123,443. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.37. The company has a market capitalization of $91.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.47. 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 has a 12 month low of $29.30 and a 12 month high of $51.34.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 22.04%.The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is presently 54.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 82.3% during the second quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,685 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 3,920 shares during the period. Steadtrust LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.0% during the second quarter. Steadtrust LLC now owns 39,380 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Science Advisors LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 129.9% during the second quarter. Wealth Science Advisors LLC now owns 18,028 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 10,185 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,904 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 23,585 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

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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