Brokerages Set Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) Price Target at $116.86

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $116.1075.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CNI shares. Argus upgraded Canadian National Railway to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, 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.

Canadian National Railway Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CNI opened at $96.72 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.03. The company has a market cap of $60.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.96. Canadian National Railway has a fifty-two week low of $91.07 and a fifty-two week high of $116.79.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.63% and a return on equity of 21.71%. Canadian National Railway’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a $0.6507 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is currently 50.19%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian National Railway

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Canadian National Railway during the second quarter valued at about $591,904,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 2nd quarter valued at about $310,489,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $189,748,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,296,701 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $518,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 26.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,705,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $695,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408,978 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.