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

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during 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. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CNI. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Canadian National Railway from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.35.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNI. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 162,179 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $20,375,000 after purchasing an additional 61,498 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,602,728 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $201,351,000 after acquiring an additional 17,083 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Canadian National Railway during the second quarter valued at $134,096,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 1st quarter worth about $627,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter worth about $816,000. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Canadian National Railway Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Canadian National Railway stock traded up $0.40 on Monday, hitting $119.17. 164,742 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,085,622. The company has a market capitalization of $75.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Canadian National Railway has a one year low of $103.96 and a one year high of $134.02.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced 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 return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 32.00%. The company had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.58 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.07%.

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.