Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Short Interest Up 213.4% in March

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in 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. Based on an average trading volume of 6,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 18.7 days. Currently, 6.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of CNQ opened at $30.55 on Friday. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $25.62 and a twelve month high of $41.29. The company has a market capitalization of $64.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.98 and a 200 day moving average of $32.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of 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. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

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).