Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Short Interest Down 73.6% in September

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 50,780,000 shares, a decrease of 73.6% from the September 15th total of 192,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.7 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $37.46. The company had a trading volume of 6,077,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,528,511. The company has a market capitalization of $79.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Canadian Natural Resources has a one year low of $29.45 and a one year high of $41.29.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $7.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.19 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.09% and a net margin of 18.05%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.388 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CNQ. StockNews.com lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Desjardins raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.5% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 144,344,207 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,011,765,000 after acquiring an additional 684,532 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,813,537 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,343,849,000 after buying an additional 714,346 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,518,833 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,514,190,000 after buying an additional 20,843,193 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 93.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,464,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,476,644,000 after buying an additional 19,980,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 105.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 31,668,045 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,127,382,000 after buying an additional 16,245,046 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

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).