Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Short Interest Update

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 128,590,000 shares, a growth of 213.4% from the February 28th total of 41,030,000 shares. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 18.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Old West Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 73.9% during the 3rd quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 355,983 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,822,000 after purchasing an additional 151,237 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,313 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 3,076 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.9% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,018 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter worth $1,520,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 617.2% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 143,196 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,756,000 after acquiring an additional 123,230 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of CNQ traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.55. The stock had a trading volume of 6,077,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,517,739. The firm has a market cap of $64.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.48. Canadian Natural Resources has a 12 month low of $25.62 and a 12 month high of $41.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.98 and a 200 day moving average of $32.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.4117 dividend. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.88%.

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).