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

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 8,041 put options on Canadian Natural Resources, about 116% above the average daily volume of 3,728.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive: Seven analysts rate the stock a Buy and five rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $57.
• Dividend and performance: CNQ shares fell 0.8% to $47.17, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of C$0.62 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of approximately 5.3%.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 8,041 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 116% compared to the average daily volume of 3,728 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Desjardins raised Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE CNQ traded down $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.17. The stock had a trading volume of 4,150,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,302,248. Canadian Natural Resources has a one year low of $29.68 and a one year high of $52.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.15. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 22.78%.The business had revenue of $14.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.40 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of C$0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNQ. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $6,198,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $117,215,000. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,122,209 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $252,883,000 after purchasing an additional 938,210 shares during the last quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the second quarter valued at about $1,785,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 58.8% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 775,589 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $37,825,000 after purchasing an additional 287,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, marketing and transportation company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company produces synthetic crude oil, conventional heavy and light crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas.

Its operations are concentrated in Western Canada and include oil sands mining and upgrading projects in northern Alberta, conventional and heavy-oil assets, and natural gas production.

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