Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

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

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE CNI traded up $0.58 during trading on Monday, hitting $98.28. The stock had a trading volume of 824,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,185,341. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $93.64 and a 12 month high of $134.02. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $101.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.84. The company has a market capitalization of $61.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America cut 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. Loop Capital lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.19.

Institutional Trading of Canadian National Railway

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Canadian National Railway by 43.3% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,552 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after purchasing an additional 4,698 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 92,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,820,000 after buying an additional 21,100 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 363.6% in the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 153,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,012,000 after buying an additional 120,687 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 5.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,962,972 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $464,002,000 after buying an additional 202,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Partners Group Holding AG increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 16.3% during the third quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 406,066 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,571,000 after buying an additional 56,849 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.