Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Short Interest Up 10.8% in November

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) saw a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,910,000 shares, a growth of 10.8% from the October 31st total of 21,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock traded up $0.64 on Tuesday, hitting $34.22. 3,760,409 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,719,650. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $72.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.11. Canadian Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $29.45 and a 52 week high of $41.29.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $7.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.07% and a net margin of 18.45%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.388 per share. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. 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 4.54%. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 96.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 20,843,193 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 93.0% in the 2nd 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. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 105.3% in the 2nd 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. Yacktman Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 95.9% in the 2nd quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 29,456,746 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,048,660,000 after buying an additional 14,418,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 90.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,017,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,069,338,000 after acquiring an additional 14,246,978 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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).