Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and four have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.19.

CNI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Veritas raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNI opened at $101.69 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.88 and a 200 day moving average of $109.75. The stock has a market cap of $63.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.91. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $98.69 and a 12 month high of $134.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 26.09% and a return on equity of 22.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter valued at $563,048,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Canadian National Railway by 46.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,737,322 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $789,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137,948 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter valued at $216,943,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Canadian National Railway by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $557,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380,554 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway during the 3rd quarter valued at $159,907,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.