Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 128,590,000 shares, an increase of 213.4% from the February 28th total of 41,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 18.7 days. Approximately 6.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 144.1% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Tudor Pickering lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $31.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,508,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,159,109. Canadian Natural Resources has a one year low of $25.62 and a one year high of $41.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $65.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 1.48.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.4117 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.31%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.88%.

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).