Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Given New $158.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) had its price target lifted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $148.00 to $158.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $106.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $117.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.00.

Canadian National Railway Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:CNI opened at $95.60 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.03 and a 200-day moving average of $98.70. Canadian National Railway has a one year low of $91.07 and a one year high of $114.13. The stock has a market cap of $59.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.96. 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 (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.05. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.63% and a return on equity of 21.71%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. Canadian National Railway’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be given a $0.8875 dividend. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $3.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 9th. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is presently 48.96%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian National Railway

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bennett Selby Investments LP lifted 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 worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 0.9% during the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 12,293 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 13.4% during the second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 929 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 3.3% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,582 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 5.3% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,374 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

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.