Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $118.3575.

CNI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Canadian National Railway from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI cut Canadian National Railway from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian National Railway from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Canadian National Railway from $161.00 to $157.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 21,387 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Bennett Selby Investments LP grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 2.2% in the second quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 4,796 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 44.2% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 346 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.9% in the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 12,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 13.4% in the second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 929 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 0.3%

Canadian National Railway stock opened at $96.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Canadian National Railway has a 1-year low of $91.65 and a 1-year high of $121.12. The company has a market cap of $60.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.86.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 21.71% and a net margin of 26.63%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.6507 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.81%.

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.