Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) Raises Dividend to $0.62 Per Share

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 31st,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 0.6159 per share by the transportation company on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railway's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61.

Canadian National Railway has increased its dividend by an average of 10.9% per year over the last three years. Canadian National Railway has a dividend payout ratio of 37.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Canadian National Railway to earn $6.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.35 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.2%.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

NYSE CNI traded up $3.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $101.79. 1,752,024 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,407,496. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Canadian National Railway has a 12-month low of $98.69 and a 12-month high of $134.02. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.63. The company has a market capitalization of $64.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.91.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on CNI shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Veritas raised Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna cut their target price on Canadian National Railway from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Canadian National Railway from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $124.19.

Canadian National Railway Company 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.