Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Price Target to $110.00

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) had its target price cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $120.00 to $110.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $112.00 to $104.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. TD Securities raised Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Loop Capital cut Canadian National Railway from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.19.

Canadian National Railway Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of CNI opened at $99.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.93. Canadian National Railway has a one year low of $91.65 and a one year high of $130.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 26.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.6159 per share. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is a boost from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNI. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,757,038 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,817,616,000 after buying an additional 1,934,622 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,986,678 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,334,251,000 after acquiring an additional 101,228 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,822,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,199,680,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,133 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Canadian National Railway by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,768,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,194,443,000 after acquiring an additional 309,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd boosted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 9,159,075 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $926,573,000 after purchasing an additional 422,078 shares during the period. 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.