Blue Trust Inc. Grows Holdings in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 26.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,646 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,562,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,175,935,000 after acquiring an additional 790,420 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings 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 worth $789,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137,948 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 5,482,524 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $642,828,000 after purchasing an additional 39,063 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,962,972 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $464,002,000 after buying an additional 202,303 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,562,480 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $302,895,000 after buying an additional 158,757 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of CNI opened at $101.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $104.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.63. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $98.69 and a 1-year high of $134.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is presently 48.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CNI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Veritas upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway 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.