Short Interest in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Grows By 57.9%

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 79,040,000 shares, an increase of 57.9% from the May 15th total of 50,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 12.0 days. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE CNQ traded up $0.66 on Friday, hitting $33.79. 12,786,356 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,626,252. The company's 50 day moving average price is $29.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.03. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $37.91.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. Analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.4227 per share. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is 67.06%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 27,065 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 9,745 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 76,108 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,349,000 after purchasing an additional 13,277 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 595.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,468,492 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $137,889,000 after purchasing an additional 282,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,109,432 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $746,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,945 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.00.

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).

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