Short Interest in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Declines By 10.5%

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Securities cut Canadian National Railway from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Bank of America upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stephens increased their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Canadian National Railway in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.52.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 45.9% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 10,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 3,411 shares during the period. Atwater Malick LLC lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 1.9% during the first quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 73,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,691,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway during the first quarter worth about $201,000. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 1.1% during the first quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 51,379 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,767,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 15.1% during the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 1.2 %

CNI opened at $127.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $81.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.88. Canadian National Railway has a 52 week low of $103.96 and a 52 week high of $134.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.44.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for 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 research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.638 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is 39.59%.

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.