Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,240,000 shares, an increase of 52.1% from the February 13th total of 2,130,000 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CNI. Loop Capital lowered Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.19.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 80.2% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CNI traded up $1.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $97.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 700,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,186,793. Canadian National Railway has a fifty-two week low of $93.64 and a fifty-two week high of $134.02. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $101.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $61.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 26.09%. As a group, research analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is 47.66%.

Canadian National Railway Company Profile

Canadian National Railway Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail, intermodal, trucking, and marine transportation and logistics business in Canada and the United States. The company provides rail services, which include equipment, custom brokerage services, transloading and distribution, business development and real estate, and private car storage services; and intermodal services, such as temperature controlled cargo, port partnerships, and logistics parks.