Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $125.04.

CNI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Canadian National Railway from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Canadian National Railway from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $146.25 to $130.67 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th.

Canadian National Railway Trading Down 1.1 %

CNI opened at $111.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Canadian National Railway has a fifty-two week low of $103.96 and a fifty-two week high of $134.02. The company’s 50-day moving average is $119.99 and its 200 day moving average is $125.13.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 32.00% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The company had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.614 per share. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in Canadian National Railway by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,566 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 0.8% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,424 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,505,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its position in Canadian National Railway by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,427 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,156 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 9,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.