Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Stock Short Interest Report for October

Key Points

• Short interest in Canadian Natural Resources fell 49.3% to 59.4 million shares as of October 15, representing about 3.0% of shares outstanding and 11.7 days of average trading volume.
• Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company, with several major funds—including Arrowstreet Capital, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, and MUFG Securities Canada—adding or establishing positions.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $57 average price target; the stock recently traded at $56.20 and offers a 4.4% dividend yield.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 59,387,363 shares, a decline of 49.3% from the September 30th total of 117,144,565 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,073,756 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 11.7 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter worth $1,411,619,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 37,457,500 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,826,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397,500 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 105.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 6,350,644 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $250,892,000 after purchasing an additional 3,262,880 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter valued at about $117,215,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 49.9% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,565,392 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $320,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,184,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Monday, October 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Canadian Natural Resources stock traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.20. 7,258,112 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,379,980. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12 month low of $30.13 and a 12 month high of $56.27. The business's 50-day moving average is $50.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.85.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 23.91%. Equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a C$0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, marketing and sale of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional petroleum assets, heavy crude oil operations, and oil sands projects that produce bitumen and synthetic crude oil.

The company's principal operations are located in Western Canada, including oil sands and conventional assets in Alberta and natural gas properties in Alberta and British Columbia.

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