Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and four have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $124.19.

Several research firms have issued reports on CNI. Jefferies Financial Group raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Securities raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Loop Capital lowered Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 0.7 %

CNI stock opened at $97.50 on Friday. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $93.64 and a 1-year high of $134.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $101.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.56. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $61.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 26.09%. Equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.6159 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is currently 47.66%.

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.