The Financial Post reports in its Saturday, April 22, edition that major Canadian oil producers are expected to hike dividends, hedge more of their production at higher prices and make the case for a share price turnaround as they begin reporting first quarter results next week. The Post's Geoffrey Morgan writes that shares in Canadian oil sands companies have been hammered so far this year, despite better oil prices in the first quarter and lower input costs for natural gas. Still, analysts expect companies' first quarter results to show improvements. Cenovus Energy, Athabasca Oil and MEG Energy have seen their shares fall by a third since the beginning of the year, while Imperial Oil shares are down 10 per cent, and Suncor Energy and Husky Energy are also down slightly. At the same time, RBC analyst Greg Pardy notes West Texas Intermediate oil prices were up 6 per cent over the previous quarter and the cost of natural gas in Alberta declined 13 per cent. The only major oil sands player whose shares are up since the beginning of the year is Canadian Natural Resources, which struck a deal analysts widely praised to buy Royal Dutch Shell's and Marathon Oil's oil sands assets in March.