Royal Bank of Canada Upgrades Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR) to “Outperform”

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR) (NYSE:CNI) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has C$179.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of C$169.00.

CNR has been the subject of several other reports. Desjardins cut their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from C$192.00 to C$181.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from C$179.00 to C$173.00 in a research report on Wednesday. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from C$176.00 to C$169.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of C$175.14.

Canadian National Railway Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of TSE:CNR opened at C$159.43 on Thursday. Canadian National Railway has a 52-week low of C$143.13 and a 52-week high of C$181.34. The company has a market capitalization of C$100.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$157.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$165.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 107.62, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Canadian National Railway (TSE:CNR) (NYSE:CNI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported C$1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$1.93 by C($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The firm had revenue of C$4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$4.40 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 8.5979325 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.845 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $3.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.14%.

Insider Activity at Canadian National Railway

In related news, Director Susan C. Jones bought 1,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$162.05 per share, with a total value of C$199,324.82. In related news, Director Susan C. Jones bought 1,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$162.05 per share, with a total value of C$199,324.82. Also, Director Shauneen Elizabeth Bruder bought 543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$157.53 per share, for a total transaction of C$85,539.88. Insiders have bought 4,383 shares of company stock valued at $585,772 over the last three months. 1.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.