Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Price Target to $171.00

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) had its price objective decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $174.00 to $171.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on CNI. Citigroup raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Securities upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

NYSE:CNI opened at $104.58 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $98.96 and a 52 week high of $134.02. The firm has a market cap of $65.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.87.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 23.62%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is 38.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 61,119 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,200,000 after buying an additional 8,002 shares during the last quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 87,463 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,878,000 after purchasing an additional 16,394 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Pembroke Management LTD raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 6,913 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,379 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

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.