Canadian Natural Resources Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CNQ)

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 11,627 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 210% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,750 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on CNQ shares. 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 research report on Friday, August 7th. Desjardins upgraded Canadian Natural Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

CNQ traded down $1.18 on Monday, hitting $48.46. 2,447,041 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,415,297. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.43. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $29.68 and a twelve month high of $52.31. The firm has a market cap of $99.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.47.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $14.74 billion during 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Canadian Natural Resources will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.0% in the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,447 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 1.7% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 15,199 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Ted Buchan & Co lifted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 43,814 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,854 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, FDx Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 10,312 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) is a Canadian independent crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, marketing and refining company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company produces a range of energy products, including heavy and light crude oil, synthetic crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

CNRL’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it holds significant oil sands, conventional oil and natural gas assets. Its oil sands business includes mining and upgrading operations as well as in situ thermal projects.