Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Short Interest Up 22.2% in May

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,310,000 shares, an increase of 22.2% from the April 30th total of 1,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 112.5% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 49,745 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,840,000 after buying an additional 26,331 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 11.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,514 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,122,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 42.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 975,049 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $95,028,000 after buying an additional 292,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 50.7% in the first quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,486 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 8,916 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $122.00 to $114.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $163.00 target price on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.52.

Canadian National Railway Trading Down 0.6%

Canadian National Railway stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $105.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,008,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,245. The stock has a market cap of $66.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.98. Canadian National Railway has a 52 week low of $91.65 and a 52 week high of $126.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.16.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The transportation company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.03. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 22.48%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.8875 per share. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway's previous dividend of $0.29. This represents a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.29%.

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.