Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Short Interest Update

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,130,000 shares, a growth of 33.1% from the January 31st total of 1,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNI opened at $100.17 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $102.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $62.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. Canadian National Railway has a 52-week low of $96.28 and a 52-week high of $134.02.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.6159 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is currently 47.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNI. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter worth $219,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 25,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,537,000 after buying an additional 17,500 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter worth $875,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter worth $102,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 370,310 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,590,000 after buying an additional 28,904 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

About Canadian National Railway

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.