Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Short Interest Update

by · The Cerbat Gem

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI – Get Free Report) (TSE:CNR) saw a significant increase in short interest in 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. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Institutional Trading of Canadian National Railway

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter valued at about $563,048,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 46.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,737,322 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $789,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137,948 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,943,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,757,038 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,817,616,000 after buying an additional 1,934,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $557,278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380,554 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CNI. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Securities upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.19.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:CNI traded up $1.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.70. 700,752 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,186,793. The firm has a market cap of $61.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.84. Canadian National Railway has a 52-week low of $93.64 and a 52-week high of $134.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI – Get Free Report) (TSE:CNR) last posted 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 net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 22.48%. As a group, analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is currently 47.66%.

About Canadian National Railway

(Get Free Report)

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.

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