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

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,130,000 shares, an increase of 33.1% from the January 31st total of 1,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 310.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 128,771 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $15,086,000 after purchasing an additional 5,301 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 233,110 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $26,126,000 after purchasing an additional 72,320 shares during the period. Northstar Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 1.2% during the third quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. now owns 96,462 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $11,301,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway during the third quarter valued at approximately $316,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

CNI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Canadian National Railway from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CNI traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $101.12. The company had a trading volume of 4,142,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,464,553. The stock has a market cap of $63.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business's 50-day moving average is $102.26 and its 200-day moving average is $108.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 26.09%. Equities analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6159 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Canadian National Railway's payout ratio is 47.66%.

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.