Canadian Natural Resources Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CNQ)

Key Points

• Canadian Natural Resources experienced a significant increase in call option trading, with a 68% rise in volume to 5,309 options compared to its typical volume of 3,169.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Canadian Natural Resources, with 74.03% of the stock being owned by institutions.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.4269 per share, representing a 5.6% annual yield, with the payout scheduled for October 3rd.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 5,309 call options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately68% compared to the typical volume of 3,169 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 4,365 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Haven Private LLC increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.4% in the second quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 11,617 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.2% in the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 32,283 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5.7% in the second quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,109 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock traded down $0.06 on Monday, hitting $30.31. The company had a trading volume of 8,075,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,481,321. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $37.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.13 and a 200-day moving average of $30.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.03.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.97 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 19.00%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.4269 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.93%.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.