Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.04.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CNI shares. Scotiabank raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 159.1% in 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 766.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 234 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the 1st quarter valued at about $64,000. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE CNI opened at $118.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $116.30 and its 200-day moving average is $122.29. Canadian National Railway has a 12-month low of $103.96 and a 12-month high of $134.02.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 32.00% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The business had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.614 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.08%.

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.