Short Interest in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Increases By 36.8%

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,120,000 shares, an increase of 36.8% from the August 15th total of 2,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CNI shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on Canadian National Railway from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. National Bank Financial upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Canadian National Railway from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.35.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of CNI traded up $1.29 on Monday, reaching $120.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 288,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,086,318. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $103.96 and a twelve month high of $134.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $116.19 and a 200-day moving average of $122.49.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 32.00% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.614 per share. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.07%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian National Railway

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNI. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 159.1% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 766.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 234 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 1st quarter valued at about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

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.