Canadian National Railway to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.61 (NYSE:CNI)

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 23rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.614 per share by the transportation company on Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th.

Canadian National Railway has increased its dividend by an average of 21.4% per year over the last three years. Canadian National Railway has a dividend payout ratio of 39.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Canadian National Railway to earn $6.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.51 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.2%.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of CNI opened at $118.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $74.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.88. Canadian National Railway has a 1 year low of $103.96 and a 1 year high of $134.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $116.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 32.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CNI shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. National Bank Financial upgraded Canadian National Railway from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Canadian National Railway from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.35.

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.