Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Shares Sold by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. decreased its position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,490 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 331 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,734 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,933 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Canadian National Railway by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 5,624,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $570,550,000 after purchasing an additional 142,070 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 287,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,136,000 after buying an additional 42,239 shares during the period. Finally, Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 18,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE CNI opened at $101.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $98.69 and a 12 month high of $134.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $102.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.33.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 26.09%. As a group, research analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.6159 dividend. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Securities upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital lowered Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.19.

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.