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

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,000,000 shares, a drop of 10.5% from the March 15th total of 7,820,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on CNI shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Canadian National Railway in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.52.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNI opened at $128.45 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $129.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $82.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.88. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $103.96 and a 1-year high of $134.02.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.56% and a net margin of 33.38%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $0.638 dividend. This represents a $2.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is currently 39.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,998 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 3,011 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,602 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. YCG LLC raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. YCG LLC now owns 250,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,418,000 after buying an additional 14,249 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 669,988 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,171,000 after buying an additional 46,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,266,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.