Manning & Napier Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its stake in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 669,988 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 46,517 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Group LLC’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $84,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Canadian National Railway in the fourth quarter valued at about $879,000. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 5,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 86.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 601 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 662 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transform Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 20,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,560,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Canadian National Railway Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of CNI traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $131.71. The company had a trading volume of 786,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,102. The stock has a market cap of $84.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.64. Canadian National Railway has a fifty-two week low of $103.96 and a fifty-two week high of $134.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 33.38% and a return on equity of 23.56%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian National Railway will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.638 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $2.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Canadian National Railway’s payout ratio is presently 39.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, CIBC cut shares of Canadian National Railway from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian National Railway has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.70.

Canadian National Railway 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.