Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) Receives $137.40 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $137.3964.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CNI shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on Canadian National Railway from C$182.00 to C$185.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on Canadian National Railway from $124.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stephens upgraded Canadian National Railway to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $138.00) on shares of Canadian National Railway in a report on Tuesday, July 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian National Railway

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the fourth quarter worth about $570,161,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,998,101 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $889,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182,106 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 7,521.2% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,143,186 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,186 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,481,206 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $442,967,000 after acquiring an additional 976,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,586,000. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Stock Performance

NYSE CNI opened at $119.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $71.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.99. Canadian National Railway has a twelve month low of $90.74 and a twelve month high of $131.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 22.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.915 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $3.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Canadian National Railway’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.10%.

About Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) is a transportation and logistics company that operates a major freight railway network across Canada and the United States. Its rail system connects the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts with major industrial centers, ports and distribution markets, supporting trade across North America.

CN transports a diverse range of products, including grain and fertilizers, coal and minerals, forest products, petroleum and chemicals, metals, automotive goods, and consumer and manufactured products.