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

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during 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 shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNI traded up $1.78 on Friday, hitting $97.70. The company had a trading volume of 700,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,186,793. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $61.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. Canadian National Railway has a 52-week low of $93.64 and a 52-week high of $134.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.77 and a 200 day moving average of $107.90.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNI. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 43.3% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 15,552 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after buying an additional 4,698 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 29.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 92,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,820,000 after purchasing an additional 21,100 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA grew its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 363.6% during the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 153,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,012,000 after purchasing an additional 120,687 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,962,972 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $464,002,000 after buying an additional 202,303 shares during the period. Finally, Partners Group Holding AG lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 16.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNI. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research 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 MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.19.

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.