Canadian Natural Resources Target of Unusually High Options Trading (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 was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 5,309 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 68% compared to the average daily volume of 3,169 call options.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.21. The stock had a trading volume of 4,754,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,131,079. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $31.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.42. The firm has a market cap of $65.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.03. Canadian Natural Resources has a fifty-two week low of $24.65 and a fifty-two week high of $37.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.39 billion during 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS 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 paid a $0.4269 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is 60.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Haven Private LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.4% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 32,283 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,109 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 8.7% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CNQ. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.00.

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).