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

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,900,000 shares, a decrease of 12.0% from the November 15th total of 2,160,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,310,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 159.1% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 738.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 260 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Canadian National Railway in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Canadian National Railway during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CNI. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $131.00 to $124.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Canadian National Railway from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America cut Canadian National Railway from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $129.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.86.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

Shares of CNI traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $103.83. 981,292 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,425,125. The stock has a market cap of $65.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.64. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $103.82 and a 1-year high of $134.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.61 and its 200 day moving average is $115.28.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.02. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.62% and a net margin of 31.65%. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Canadian National Railway’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.6108 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

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.