Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Receives $124.19 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

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

CNI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNI. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Canadian National Railway by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 2.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 11,491 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in Canadian National Railway during the third quarter worth $252,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Canadian National Railway by 100.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,301 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 3.3% in the third quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 43,970 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE:CNI opened at $103.98 on Monday. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $98.69 and a 12 month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $102.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.40.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.6159 dividend. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.68%.

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.