Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Stock Short Interest Report for September

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) saw a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 117,144,565 shares, a drop of 36.0% from the September 15th total of 182,920,552 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,491,694 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 21.3 days. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

CNQ stock opened at $53.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.61. Canadian Natural Resources has a fifty-two week low of $29.68 and a fifty-two week high of $53.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.53.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 22.78%. Analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.10 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of C$0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.9% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 19,194 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.4% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 16,459,772 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $784,278,000 after acquiring an additional 223,444 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 33.2% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,566 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.0% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 15,084 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $782,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 270,462 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $12,750,000 after acquiring an additional 104,362 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, marketing and sale of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional petroleum assets, heavy crude oil operations, and oil sands projects that produce bitumen and synthetic crude oil.

The company’s principal operations are located in Western Canada, including oil sands and conventional assets in Alberta and natural gas properties in Alberta and British Columbia.