Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Raises Dividend to $0.62 Per Share

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 31st,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.6159 per share by the transportation company on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61.

Canadian National Railway has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.9% annually over the last three years. Canadian National Railway has a payout ratio of 37.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Canadian National Railway to earn $5.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.35 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.1%.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

CNI opened at $104.58 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $104.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.96. The company has a market cap of $65.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Canadian National Railway has a 52-week low of $98.96 and a 52-week high of $134.02.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 23.62%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $131.00 to $124.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.19.

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.