Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Upgraded at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Canadian National Railway in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a hold rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Canadian National Railway from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Canadian National Railway from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their target price for the stock from $146.25 to $130.67 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Canadian National Railway from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $148.03.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of CNI stock opened at $120.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $122.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Canadian National Railway has a 12 month low of $103.96 and a 12 month high of $134.02. The company has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.89.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.01. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.27% and a net margin of 32.81%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Canadian National Railway will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNI. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 6.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 84,920 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,196,000 after purchasing an additional 4,986 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 776 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in Canadian National Railway during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 3,342 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 27,415 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,444,000 after acquiring an additional 9,191 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.