Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Upgraded at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has $120.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $132.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.02.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE:CNI opened at $101.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $105.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.91. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $98.96 and a 1-year high of $134.02.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 23.62%. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.6108 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNI. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 678,211 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $68,715,000 after buying an additional 202,692 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,586,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth about $5,662,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 138,810 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,091,000 after acquiring an additional 10,039 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

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.