Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.19.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:CNI opened at $96.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $60.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.87 and a 200 day moving average of $108.12. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $93.64 and a 1-year high of $134.02. 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 (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released 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 net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 22.48%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.6159 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,757,038 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,817,616,000 after buying an additional 1,934,622 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,986,678 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,334,251,000 after buying an additional 101,228 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,562,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,175,935,000 after purchasing an additional 790,420 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,822,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,199,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,768,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,194,443,000 after purchasing an additional 309,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.