Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Upgraded by Bank of America to Buy

Bank of America upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $145.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $140.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CNI. Susquehanna Bancshares boosted their target price on Canadian National Railway from $115.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Canadian National Railway in a report on Monday. They set a hold rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stephens upped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Canadian National Railway from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $146.95.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 0.2 %

CNI opened at $131.31 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $129.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.83. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $103.96 and a twelve month high of $134.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $84.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.88.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.56% and a net margin of 33.38%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $0.638 dividend. This represents a $2.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio is 39.59%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian National Railway

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Canadian National Railway by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,395,401 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,813,534,000 after acquiring an additional 387,975 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Canadian National Railway by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,868,740 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,761,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,907,938 shares during the period. FIL Ltd grew its position in Canadian National Railway by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 19,189,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,412,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280,726 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Canadian National Railway by 5.0% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 13,067,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,421,649,000 after acquiring an additional 625,500 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 11,651,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,471,733,000 after purchasing an additional 314,600 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.